Home Again
by ficwriterjet
Summary: This story takes place in Season 6 of Charmed, and centers on the character Chris. My story follows the events in that season, but focuses on the relationship between Chris and his family - especially Leo. WARNING: Parental spanking of an adult.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This story takes place in the sixth season of Charmed during the episode 'Spin City' and has references to the following episodes: 'Chris Crossed', 'I Dream of Phoebe', 'Midnight Rendezvous', and 'Hyde School Reunion'.

Home Again Chapter 1

Chris paused in mid swing. He could feel the antidote working. He wasn't sure how his mom and aunts had done it, but he could feel the spider demon's effects on him going away. He thought for just a second about what had happened. A few minutes ago when he had been turning into a spider demon, he had tossed his father, Leo, across the room. Then when Leo was lying on the floor on his back, Chris had crouched down on top of him, and punched him repeatedly in the face while yelling 'You don't know me!'.

Now Chris was back to normal. But because he had spent so many years suppressing all the emotions he had for his father, they refused to be shoved back down now that they had been released. Chris glared down at Leo and took aim. He punched him in the face again, and again, and again. He couldn't stop himself. He knew it was wrong. He knew his father wouldn't fight back. But he couldn't stop. He felt a mix of satisfaction and guilt as he saw a trickle of blood on the side of Leo's mouth, but still he kept punching.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he heard someone say, "NO! Chris no!" but he refused to listen.

Then he felt someone grab his upper arm to stop his swing. He was startled into stopping. He looked up and saw his mother looking at him with shock. He let her pull him up. As she pulled him she said, "Stop it! Chris, stop."

Soon Piper had a hand on each of Chris' arms, and she was looking up into his face as she said, "It's over."

Chris felt both shame and justification at the same time. He wrenched his arms away from his mother's touch and ran out of the cave passing his two aunts along the way. As soon as he was a few feet away, he turned back around and looked at the cave entrance. He couldn't believe what he had just done. He knew that everyone would want to talk to him at length about all of it, but he just couldn't deal. He orbed away before any of them came out.

Chris orbed to his room at the manor, but soon realized his family would quickly follow. He grabbed a jacket and thought about orbing to his old room at P3 but decided against it. He eventually orbed to the top of the Golden Gate Bridge to sit and think. He knew no one but Leo would know to look for him there, and he was pretty sure Leo wouldn't show up. Chris needed time and space to concentrate so he would be able to calm himself down. It took work to cram his emotions back down into the little wounded corner of his heart that he tried so hard to ignore every day.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on his thoughts. 'Okay Chris, take a few deep breaths and calm down. You shouldn't have hit him.'

His mind refused to be calmed as it yelled, 'He deserved it! Asking what he did in the future that was so bad! Then he actually had the gall to make guesses that were so….not me! Did he miss a school play? Does he think I'm that shallow? Did he take away my favorite toy? Does he think I'm five?'

Chris took another deep breath as he felt himself getting angrier instead of calming down. He heard his father's voice in his head asking again, 'Did I play favorites with Wyatt?'

Chris shook his head as if he could knock that question out of his memory. There it was. The real source of most of his anger. He though, 'Of course you played favorites Dad. How could you not? Evil brother Wyatt was a full time job, and I was just in the way.'

Chris could hear his mom calling him. He ignored it and thought, 'Yeah, like I'm really gonna just orb home so you can yell at me, or give me that Look.'

Chris could hear Piper pleading with him to come home, but when he didn't show up, the pleading changed to angry yells. In the end she even yelled, "I know you can hear me, so you get your butt home right this minute young man!"

Chris was unimpressed. He wasn't about to go home until he was ready to talk about it. He was relieved when she stopped calling him after that. Chris tried to get back to talking himself into not caring what his father did or didn't do. 'It's okay that Dad didn't have time for you. He had to protect Wyatt, and then he had to protect others from Wyatt. Once Mom was gone he made sure Grandpa was there to watch after me. It's not that he doesn't love you, it's just that other things were more important. He said he loved you pretty often, especially in the letters. He just didn't have time to be with you. You shouldn't hate him for that. He was trying to protect other people, and he did still check on me once in a while.'

Chris didn't think his self talk was working very well. He was still just pissed. He could feel the anger pulsing in him. He said out loud to himself, "This isn't helping."

Chris tried a different approach. He looked down at the little lights from the cars rushing around hundreds of feet below him, and tried to concentrate on his mission. He was there to save Wyatt. To make sure Wyatt didn't end up becoming the heartless evil bastard he was in Chris' future.

When he and Bianca had first come up with the plan, it had sounded so easy. Go back in time, and save Wyatt from becoming evil, all the while never letting anyone know why he was really there. He sure as hell hadn't planned to let any of them know he was related. That just complicated everything and made it that much harder to focus on his mission.

Chris said to himself, "How did it get so messed up?"

He tried to come up with the exact moment his plans had gone to crap, but he couldn't come up with one moment. Instead it was a bunch of little moments that added up to his current predicament. He muttered, "Aunt Phoebe and her stupid vision quest."

He had specifically taken the same potion he had given to Page and Piper, so that Phoebe couldn't read his emotions. Then she had to go and have that vision quest which let her see Wyatt had a little brother in the future.

Chris thought back to the day in P3 when Phoebe had confronted him about who he was. He muttered, "Should have lied."

But even as he was saying it, he knew he couldn't have done it. And even if he had, she would have known. Chris thought, 'Then there was the whole Genie debacle. Not only did Paige find out the truth, but Phoebe….'

Chris' thoughts were interrupted when he saw Leo orb in next to him.

***********

Fifteen minutes earlier:

Leo looked up at Chris and saw him change. Just a few minutes earlier, Chris had tossed him across the room. Then Chris had been punching him in the face. He could tell Chris was back to himself now, and he knew Piper and her sisters had found a way to save Chris from becoming a spider demon. Leo's relief about that was short lived, as Chris resumed punching him. Leo had just found out that Chris was his son a couple of hours ago. He wasn't about to fight back. He was pretty sure Piper was coming, and she would be able to talk Chris down.

Sure enough, a few blows to the head later Piper was there and pulling Chris off him. Chris ran off immediately, and Piper knelt down and asked, "Are you alright?"

Leo felt his jaw and pulled his had away to see a little blood. Leo said, "I've been better."

Piper sighed and held out her hand to help him up. He stood and she said, "Let's go home."

Leo orbed Piper home without a second thought to Paige and Phoebe. Paige looked at Phoebe and said, "The club?"

Phoebe thought for a second and realized Piper and Leo needed some privacy to work things out. She nodded and held Paige's hand as Paige orbed them to P3.

Back at the manor Leo and Piper orbed into the living room. Piper, feeling huge already at six months pregnant, went to sit down on the couch. Leo sat beside her. They were quiet for a few minutes. Eventually Leo asked, "Why didn't you tell me Piper?"

Piper looked at him. "Because it was hard enough for you to leave in the first place. I didn't want to make it even harder."

Leo shook his head. He looked away and said, "You should have told me anyway."

"Would it have changed anything?"

Leo didn't know. He wanted to say yes, but he just wasn't sure he honestly could. Piper said, "Let's get Chris over here to talk with us."

Leo nodded, and Piper called, "Chris."

A few seconds passed and then Piper yelled a little louder, "Chris!"

Piper and Leo looked at each other. Piper tried a more gentle approach, "Chris honey, please come talk to us."

Piper waited a couple of seconds and tried again. "Come on Chris, it's not that bad. We can all sit down and talk it out."

Leo said, "Maybe he needs some alone time."

Piper was loosing her patients with the situation. Her sisters and Chris had noticed that the bigger Piper got, the shorter her temper was. Piper said, "Maybe he needs a kick in the pants."

Leo chided, "Piper. He's hurting. We need to try and help him deal with his past, and to do that we need to be patient with him."

Piper gave Leo a dismissive snort, and yelled in an angry tone, "Chris!"

Piper glared at her ceiling and said, "Christopher, don't you ignore me!"

A few seconds later she lost it and yelled, "I know you can hear me, so you get your butt home right this minute young man!"

Leo put a hand over her hand and said, "Yelling louder isn't going to do any good. He hears you. He's just not coming."

Piper crossed her arms and said, "Then you take me to him."

Leo closed his eyes for a second and said, "He's on the Golden Gate Bridge."

"Okay, so take me."

Leo shook his head. "No. It's too high up. Something could happen."

Piper glared at him and seriously thought about blowing him up. But baby Chris inside her chose that moment to kick her in the bladder, and she said, "Excuse me, I have to use the restroom…..again."

Leo gave her a fond smile as he remembered her using that same line when she was pregnant with Wyatt. While Piper was gone, Leo had a few minutes to think about things. He didn't know for sure why Chris hated him, but he was pretty sure his comment about playing favorites with Wyatt had set him off. Leo hated not knowing how he had let his son down. He couldn't imagine himself playing favorites between his kids. But then he couldn't imagine his sweet baby Wyatt turning evil either.

Leo shook his head and thought, 'Heck, I can barely get my head around the fact that I have a second child on the way. Another baby. Another son. One son grows up to hate me, and the other grows up evil……'

Leo saw Piper come back into the room. He saw her smile, and as she walked up to him she took his hand in hers. She placed his hand on her belly, and he could feel the baby move. Leo looked at her bulging stomach, and then looked into her eyes. In that moment he made a promise to himself. He thought, 'Chris won't grow up to hate me, and Wyatt won't grow up to be evil, because I'll make a different future.'

Piper could tell Leo already loved the baby. He said, "I'll go get him."

Piper nodded and let him go. Leo orbed to the top of the Golden Gate Bridge.

********

Present time:

Chris and Leo stared at each other for a few seconds.

Eventually Leo said, "Piper was calling you."

"I heard."

"Why didn't you come home?"

"I don't want to talk to anyone right now, I just need some time to be alone and think."

"We need to talk about what happened Chris."

"Why?"

Leo just stared at Chris for a second. He said, "Because you obviously hate me, and I want to know why."

"It doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters."

"Look Leo, I came here to do a job, and that job isn't done yet. Talking about what happens between us in the future isn't going to make a bit of difference, and really isn't going to help us save Wyatt."

"I think I deserve to know what happens."

Chris couldn't hold back any more. He said, "You really wanna know?! Fine. You were never there for me. You were there for Mom, for Wyatt, and even for the rest of the world. But you were never there for me."

Chris' speech had started out sounding snide, but by the end he was close to tears. Leo believed Chris was telling the truth, but at the same time, he didn't understand how he could become the man Chris was talking about. Leo paused a second and then said, "Did you ever think that maybe you came back here not just to save Wyatt? Maybe you came back to this time to save us too."

Chris looked in Leo's eyes and said, "I doubt it."

Chris could feel himself about to cry, and quickly orbed away, not wanting to add that humiliation to the conversation.

Leo looked out over the city and tried to decide what to do. He wanted to comfort Chris, but knew Chris wouldn't accept that. He knew Piper wanted him to bring Chris home, but he thought Chris could use some time to pull himself together first. So Leo stood on the top of the bridge, closed his eyes, and waited for Chris to calm down before he went to get him.

Chris was too emotional to think straight, and orbed to the first place he thought of, which was his old room at P3. There was no one in the room, but he could see the club was busy, and the band was loud through the open door. He walked over, shut the door, and locked it. For some reason the noise from the band made it easier to let his emotions go. He turned and leaned his back against the door. He slowly slid down until he was sitting on the floor, put his head in his hands, and cried.

He couldn't stop thinking, 'He doesn't know me now. He didn't know me then. He doesn't care. He was never there for me. He was never fucking there for me.'

These thoughts looped around in his head while he cried. About five minutes later he was almost done crying. Until he thought about his mom. That set off fresh tears. The image of his mother's body lying dead from Wyatt's hands was always there lurking in the back of his head. Since Chris could remember, Wyatt had never been normal, or even nice, but at sixteen Wyatt's evil had fully taken over. Piper had tried to stop him from leaving home and joining the underworld, and Wyatt had proved his evil to everyone by killing her, and thus ending the power of three. Chris had been fourteen at the time, and even though that had been eight years ago, Chris still couldn't get past it.

Ten minutes later an exhausted Chris pushed himself up off the floor, wiped his face on his sleeve, and walked over to the couch. He lay down on it, and tried to focus his thoughts on what he was going to do tomorrow. He would blow off his parents and aunts, and go directly to the book of shadows. He would again look at every demon listed, and go after them one at a time in an attempt to vanquish them before they could get to Wyatt.

But his mind refused to focus on his self appointed mission. Instead it wandered over the past seven months, again trying to figure out how he had become so intertwined with the family he was trying to protect and stay apart from at the same time. He remembered where he had left off when Leo showed up. He had been thinking about the Genie.

He had been desperate to get his parents back together so that he would be born. Time had been running out, and then by a strange twist of fate his Aunt Phoebe had become a Genie, and he had become her master by grabbing the bottle. Phoebe and his mother had warned him against making wishes, but he'd done it anyway. The first time was a mistake, but that one had turned out okay, because it made Leo trust him, and that was essential to saving Wyatt. But the second wish had been deliberate, and didn't work out well at all. In fact in a round about way it had almost resulted in the death of his mother and both aunts. If Leo hadn't healed Piper in his sleep, it would have.

********

Six and a half months ago:

Chris was nervously pacing around the room waiting for his parents to wake up. Phoebe was waiting with him and trying to keep him calm while he worried. Finally Piper and Leo woke, and after a slightly altered explanation for why they were asleep together in the first place, they went off together to pick up Wyatt from Magic School. Chris called, "Wait! What about……me?"

His parents, who didn't know they were his parents, didn't hear him. He stood there feeling sorry for himself and almost forgot that Phoebe was still in the room. She quietly said, "Don't worry. There may be hope for you yet."

Chris was too depressed about his impending non-conception to really listen to her. That was until she used that tone. The tone he remembered from when he was really little, and that seem fairly inappropriate now that he was twenty-two. She said, "You mister are in a lot of trouble."

Chris turned to her with irritation and said, "I know! That's what I've been trying to tell you all day!"

Phoebe waved that comment away with a swooping motion of her hand, and said with irritation of her own, "Not about that! About the wish you made when I was a Genie."

Chris, not wanting to hear it, crossed his arms, cocked his head to the side, and gave her a sneer when he said, "You mean when I was your master?"

Phoebe glared at him. She stood up and poked a finger in his chest as she said, "I think you better remember that I'm out of the bottle."

Chris just looked down at her finger with boredom. Phoebe put her hand down and tried a different approach. She said in a serious, but not angry voice, "It's wrong to make wishes with Genies Chris. You knew that before you even made your wish, and still you did it anyway."

Chris thew his hands in the air with exasperation and said, "Because _you_ were the Genie Aunt Phoebe! I didn't think my own family was going to trick me!"

Phoebe's anger softened a little when he called her Aunt. She shook her head at him and put a hand on his upper arm as she said, "But it would have been wrong Chris. I'm sorry if you feel betrayed by what I did, but I couldn't let you do it that way. We'll find another way."

Chris started to feel a little guilty and looked down. She patted his arm and said, "So no more wishing with Genies right?"

Chris reluctantly nodded his head. Phoebe continued, "And you've tricked us more then once since you've been our whitelighter. In fact, you've been downright dishonest with us more then once."

"I have my reasons."

"I'm sure you do, and I'm also sure that Piper won't see them as valid when she finds out you're her son. She's not very forgiving about lying when it comes to family."

Phoebe could tell that Chris believed that to be true and was worried. She decided to change the topic. She smiled as she said, "Maybe you should think about moving in here with us."

Chris darted his eyes back to her, and for some reason Phoebe thought he looked close to panic. He stammered, "I…I don't think that would be good. I gotta go."

Chris started to orb away and Phoebe called out, "Chris wait!"

He ignored her.

*******

Present time:

Chris nodded to himself and mumbled, "Then I was stupid and moved in anyway."

Chris could hear the band out in the main room start up another song. He sighed and thought, 'Not like I really had a choice. Once Mom found out she was my mom, that was the end of living here.'

He opened his eyes and sat up to look around the back room at P3. He wasn't attached to it. He didn't have any fond memories from this place. He mostly just wanted to go home to his room in the manor, but he still didn't want to talk to anyone about what he had done. He looked down at his hands and had a flash of punching his father. He lay back down, groaned, and closed his eyes again. This time he was assaulted with thoughts of the day Piper had found out she was pregnant for a second time.

*******

Six months ago:

Chris walked into the room where his two aunts were sitting together and Piper was standing in front of them with her back to him. Chris, leaned against the doorframe and casually asked, "Is this a bad time?"

Piper spun around and stared at Chris, and Chris could tell that his Aunts had told Piper he was her son. He didn't know what to do and decided to stare at his feet for a while.

A few seconds later Piper said, "Chris?"

Still looking at his shoes he said, "Yeah?"

"You're my son?"

Chris nodded at the floor, and then stole a quick glance at her to see her reaction. All he could see was surprise. He quickly looked away and tried to sound like it didn't matter when he said, "But that really doesn't change anything. I'm still here to make sure Wyatt doesn't turn evil, so I think I'm gonna go take a look at the book of shadows and see…."

Piper interrupted with, "Wait just a minute. Did you actually think this information wouldn't change anything? It changes everything!"

Chris looked over at her and said, "Not really. I'm still here for one reason, and we all know what it is. I'm gonna go check the book."

Chris turned to walk upstairs, and Piper said with calm resolution, "You're going to move in here with us."

Chris turned back around and said, "What?!"

Piper turned to Paige and Phoebe and said, "Could you two help him pack, and then orb all his stuff into the guest bedroom."

Chris said, "No way! This is not going to happen, Piper. I can't live here with you guys! I haven't lived with you guys since I was……"

Piper raised her eyebrows at him as he tapered off. She said, "Since when Chris."

"I can't tell you that, but I am telling you that I can't live here."

Piper gave him a look that was vaguely familiar to him. She said, "Riiiiiight. Well, I'm telling you that you are going to live here, so deal with it."

Piper turned to Phoebe and Paige who both nodded. Paige took Phoebe's hand and they orbed to P3. Chris said, "But I…..I'm twenty two….and….."

Piper walked over to him as he was starting to protest again, and pulled him into a tight hug. She said, "It will be easier to work together to protect Wyatt this way, and I want to have you close by so I can get to know you better."

Chris pulled away and shook his head, "But I really think it would be better if…."

Piper put a hand over his mouth to stop him and said, "If you make me, I'll tell the bouncers at P3 that I'm not letting you live in the back room anymore."

Chris looked at her carefully as she took her hand away. He said, "You wouldn't?"

Piper stared him down and said, "Try me mister."

Chris' eyes got a little wider as he realized she was serious. He slowly nodded and said, "Okay. I guess I could live here for a little while, as long as I'm free to come and go as I please."

Piper smiled and nodded. "Of course."

"I….I guess I'll go help Phoebe and Paige."

"Good idea."

Chris orbed to his room at P3, and saw his aunts putting all his clothes in a box. Phoebe said, "You can get another box from the kitchen and start packing those papers you have all over the desk."

Chris was slightly frustrated about the whole situation and said, "You two didn't have to tell her you know!"

Paige waved him away and said, "You know Phoebe can't keep that kind of thing to herself."

Chris glared at Phoebe, who said, "What? It's better this way. Now you can live at home, like you should have all along."

"Why do you assume I agreed to the move?"

Phoebe gave a little snicker and said, "Haven't you seen how stubborn Piper can be when she gets an idea in her head?"

Chris thought about the day she had died. He looked away and said quietly, "Yeah, I have."

*******

Present time:

Chris noticed that the band had stopped playing. He said to himself, "Even after I moved in things weren't that bad. Until Grandpa came to visit."

Chris thought about the five months following his move into the manor. He had made sure to stay as aloof as possible, and put as much time and energy into hunting demons as he could. He tried hard not to get very involved with his mom or his aunts. He continued to call them all by name, and he tried to only be there when he had official business. When he wasn't undercover with some kind of demon, he would orb to his room late at night to sleep, and he would get up early in the morning to leave. But that had resulted in Piper calling her father, Victor. Chris couldn't help but smile and relax a little more when he thought about his Grandpa.

*******

One month ago:

Chris orbed home and had his usual business filled conversation with his mom. As he walked off to look at the book of shadows, he could hear Piper tell Paige, "He hates me."

Chris wanted to go tell her he didn't hate her and that in fact he loved her very much, but he refused to let himself. Because if he did that, there would be no turning back, and then who knows if he would succeed in his mission.

Chris took a look in the book for a spell to protect him if the Scabber demons discovered he wasn't who he claimed to be. Then just as he was about to go back to the Scabber demons he thought he heard a familiar voice in the living room. He walked over and saw his Grandfather talking to his Mom. Chris was very surprised, but he couldn't stop the joy his voice held as he said, "Grandpa?"

Victor looked over at the young man who had just called him 'Grandpa', and smiled unsure what to think. Piper had just told him that the baby she was carrying inside of her was named Chris, and that Chris hated her, and was treating her like she wasn't even there most of the time. She had told Victor she wanted him to talk to Chris and find out why. Victor hadn't really understood, but he had been game and he started talking to her stomach. As he was talking, adult Chris came into the room. Chris walked over and pulled Victor into a hug and said, "Grandpa, it's so great to see you."

Victor gave Chris an awkward hug back and said, "Um….It's nice to see you too?"

Piper couldn't believe the warm reception her father was getting. She said, "Well it's good to see that you like your Grandpa."

Chris looked over at her and then back to Victor. He said, "Of course."

Victor said, "I'm confused."

Piper said, "Let's go get a cup of coffee, and I'll try to explain."

Soon the three of them were sitting at the kitchen sipping coffee, and Piper said, "Dad, this is your grandson Chris. He came back to our time from the future to prevent Wyatt from becoming evil."

Victor looked back and forth between Chris and Piper waiting for the punch line. When there wasn't one he said to Chris, "Evil? How does Wyatt become evil?"

"I can't tell you that."

Frustrated with that excuse, Piper said, "Because of future consequences?"

Chris nodded. Piper sighed. Victor said, "Okay so, you and me, we're close in the future?"

Chris nodded enthusiastically and said, "Yeah, your awesome Grandpa."

Victor couldn't help but smile over at Piper as he said, "Did you here that? I'm awesome."

Piper smiled, "I heard."

Victor turned to Chris. "I really wasn't the best dad. I wasn't around much for the girls, so it's really nice to know that I could make up for that a little bit with my grandkids."

Chris nodded sincerely and said, "You do. Especially after the event."

Piper said, "Wyatt turning evil?"

"No…..something else."

Piper said with more then a little irritation, "Another something you can't tell us about Chris?"

Chris huffed and raised his voice as he said, "Look Piper, I've explained this more then once, anything I tell you now could have drastic and unexpected repercussions in the future, so maybe you…..."

Victor interrupted, "Hey, don't talk to your mother like that."

Piper was amazed when Chris actually looked a little embarrassed and said, "You're right. I'm sorry."

Victor and Piper shared a look while Chris was looking at his coffee. Piper was pleased that Victor seemed to have some kind of influence over the son she couldn't seem to get through to. Chris sighed and said, "I should get back. The Scabber demons will notice I'm gone."

Piper stood up and started to leave as she said, "What? And leave your awesome grandpa? Visit for a while. Grab a sandwich, grab a beer…." Piper leaned in towards Victor as she said, "…..get some answers."

Chris and Victor looked at each other for a second. Then Victor said, "You wanna go out to get something to eat?"

Chris knew he should get back, but it was so good to see his Grandfather that he just nodded and said, "Let me go change clothes first."

Once he had changed, they both got in Victor's car. Victor started it and said, "What do you like to eat?"

"Anything. You like Italian, and that sounds good."

Victor nodded and started driving to a restaurant. The car was silent for a few minutes. Then Victor said, "So when you say Wyatt turns evil, what exactly do you mean?"

"He kills anyone who stands in his way, both demons and innocents."

They were silent again, and then Victor said, "He seems so sweet."

"He's not evil yet. I don't know what made him change. Right now he's good. I can tell he hasn't been changed. But because I don't know what changes him, I'm doing everything I can to take out as many demons as possible before they can get to him."

"So tell me about the demons you are undercover with right now."

Chris told him about the Scabber demons the rest of the ride. Soon they were in the restaurant, and had ordered their food. Victor could tell by the way Chris kept looking at his watch and looking around the room that he mostly just wanted to get done so he could go. Victor said, "I guess you don't really want to be here."

Chris sighed, "No, it's not that I don't want to be here, it's just that I need to get back before they find out something is wrong."

Victor nodded. He said, "We don't have to eat, we can just go back."

"No, I need to eat something. It's been…..I guess it's been a day and a half since I ate."

"Jeez! No wonder you're mom is worried about you."

"Piper needs to stop worrying. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

Victor gave Chris a disbelieving look and said, "Yeah, I can tell."

Chris said nothing. Victor changed the topic, "You say we're close in the future, so what kinds of things do we do together?"

Chris shrugged. Victor said, "Do I take you fishing?"

"No."

"Do I take you to ball games?"

"No."

"Do I take you to strip clubs?"

Chris looked horrified and said, "God no!"

Victor smiled at that and said, "So tell me what we do."

"We just…..talk."

Victor paused and then said, "Oh."

Chris said, "Look, maybe this was a bad idea. I'll just orb home and grab a sandwich before I go back."

Victor held up his hand and said, "No, no. You say what we do is talk, so let's talk."

Chris sighed but waited. Victor said, "How have you been getting along with your mom?"

Chris leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms defensively. He said, "Let me guess. She asked you to talk to me."

Victor nodded and said, "She's worried."

"Well, she needs to get over it."

"Why are you so angry with her? Why do you hate her?"

Chris looked truly shocked. "What?! I don't hate her. Why does she think I hate her?"

Victor sat back too and said, "I saw how you were with her at home. You don't look at her very often when you talk, and you say as little as possible. She can tell just by your body language that you're angry with her."

Chris shook his head. "I'm not."

"Then why are you treating her like she doesn't exist?"

Chris looked at Victor with tears in his eyes as he said, "Because in my future she doesn't."

Victor paled and said quietly, "What?"

"She dies when I'm fourteen."

Victor said in a shocked monotone, "That's the event?"

Chris nodded. They were silent for a few minutes. Then Chris said, "That's why I can't get close to her. Because I have to go back to the future where she isn't."

Victor sat up again and said, "Maybe that's all the more reason to get close to her now."

Chris looked down. Victor continued, "If there is one thing that I've learned from having a witch for a wife, and daughters, it's that every minute you have together is important. My wife and Prue both died so young. If I could go back in time, I would spend every minute I could with them. I would be with them as much as possible so that I could take those happy memories back with me when I had to leave them again."

Chris said nothing still, but Victor could tell he was thinking about it. Victor said quietly, "The pain of loosing someone you love may seem overpowering, but if you can remember the happy times you had together, then they are never really that far gone. Talk to Piper. Get close to her, and keep those memories close to your heart when you leave. And you never know, you might have already changed that event in the future."

Chris looked up at him and gave a slight nod. Chris wanted to believe that was true. The food arrived, and they both ate quietly thinking about what the other had said. When they were done Victor drove them home. As they pulled up Chris said, "I'd better go change."

Victor nodded and went to find his daughter. He found Piper and Paige in the attic. Piper smiled and said, "Did you have a nice time?"

Victor went and gave her a hug as he said, "I love you sweetie."

Piper looked surprised at the sudden affection, but hugged him back and said, "I love you too Dad."

Chris appeared in the doorway, and said, "I'm headed back."

Piper nodded, and then before anyone could say much, two Scabber demons appeared in the attic. They looked at Chris, and then they both shot greenish slime out of their mouths towards him. He orbed quickly, and the green slime melted the bookshelf it hit. Piper yelled at her dad to get out, which he quickly did. Piper flicked her hands at one of the demons and tried to blow him up. The blow damaged him slightly, but he didn't blow up. He looked at her and spit some green slime at her. Paige called out, "Icky stuff!"

The slime then went back to the demon that had spit it. The demon exploded, and the other demon shimmered away before he could be vanquished too. Everyone stood up and surveyed the damage.

Piper asked Paige, "Icky stuff?"

"What, it worked didn't it?"

Chris felt guilty about the mess and said, "Sorry about this."

Piper said, "It's okay. Kids are messy."

Chris thought to himself, 'I'm not a kid.' But let it go.

Chris said, "Well, I guess my cover is blown. I'll have to get a vanquishing potion ready, and get down there before he rounds up some more of them and they come after me."

Piper said, "No way. It's much too dangerous now that they know you aren't one of them."

"Well, I can't stay here, that will put all of you in danger."

"Well, you can't go, because that will put you in danger!"

"I'll be fine."

"Yes you will, because you're staying here. We'll create a force field with crystals here in the attic, so they won't be able to detect you for a while. Paige and I will work on the vanquish, and you can get some rest."

Chris gave her an incredulous look. "Rest?! You've got to be kidding me."

"You look tired."

"No Piper, you look tired. You and little me inside you should be the ones resting, not me. I'll go so that you'll be safe. I'll make the vanquish, and find them."

"Demons try to kill us every other day Chris. I'm as safe as I'm gonna be….unless you know something I don't."

Chris looked away. Piper realized she had guessed right. She said, "Oh…..so is something going to happen to me?"

Chris mumbled, "I can't tell you."

Piper said, "Am I gonna….."

She could tell it was true before she completed the sentence. She said, "Oh….I see."

Victor had been watching this whole exchange from the doorway. At this point he said, "Not right now honey. Later."

Chris shot Victor with an angry look for even giving Piper that much information. Piper nodded and looked back to Chris. She said, "And this is what you've been living with?"

Chris nodded again. The room was silent for a few seconds, and then Piper took a deep breath and said, "Well, whatever it is, it obviously doesn't happen until after you're born, so save it."

Chris looked into his mom's eyes, not quite believing she was all business again. Piper put her hands on her hips and said, "You are going to stay up here in the attic and rest while Paige and I make the vanquishing potion. Got it?"

Chris was still reeling from the fact that Piper knew she was going to die sometime in the next twenty two years, and responded to the tone of voice that was familiar to him with, "Got it, Mom."

Chris belatedly realized he had called her 'mom' and looked at her with surprise. She looked surprised too, but then smiled and nodded. "Good. Paige, get the crystals please."

Half an hour later the potion was ready, and Paige, Piper, Phoebe, and Chris all went together to vanquish the Scabber demons while Victor watched Wyatt.


	2. Chapter 2

**********

Present time:

Chris yawned while he was still thinking about Victor. He thought, 'After that I was a part of the family whether I wanted to be or not.'

He was still trying to decide if that was a good thing when he fell asleep.

Leo had been up on the Golden Gate Bridge for the past half an hour waiting for Chris to stop sending off waves of anger. He could finally sense that Chris was at peace, so he orbed to him. He saw Chris asleep on the couch. Leo looked at him closely and saw the resemblance to Piper. He walked over to him and gently put a hand on his shoulder. Leo orbed them both into the guest bedroom at the manor, which had become Chris' bedroom six months ago. Chris stayed asleep. Leo walked out to go find Piper.

Piper was in the kitchen baking cookies to try and calm her nerves. She didn't know what was taking Leo so long, but she didn't think it could be good. It was late, and she was tired, but she knew she couldn't sleep until she heard from both Chris and Leo. She looked up from her dough and saw Leo coming into the kitchen. Piper exclaimed, "There you are! What happened? Where's Chris?"

Leo said, "Chris is asleep."

"Asleep?!"

Leo took her hand and led her over to the kitchen table. He pulled out a chair for her, and then sat in one himself. He said, "Chris says I was never there for him when he was growing up. After he told me that he orbed away and spent at least fifteen minutes crying…."

Piper almost cried herself at that news. She said, "What could have gone so wrong with our future Leo?"

"I've spent the past half hour trying to answer that question myself, but I haven't come up with anything. The only thing I'm sure of is that we need to change it. We need to make sure we do a better job this time around no matter what it takes."

Piper put her hand over his and said, "I agree."

Leo said, "I think we should let him sleep for the night, and then we can talk to him in the morning."

Piper nodded and said, "I'm tired too."

"If you don't mind, I think I'll go sit with Chris incase he wakes up in the night"

"Good idea. Come wake me up if there are any problems."

Leo nodded. Piper got up and went to go check on Chris and Wyatt before going to bed herself.

Upstairs Chris was dreaming of his past. He was having the same nightmare he had every time he got too emotional about his mom. The same nightmare he had actually lived through eight years ago. The day his brother had killed his mom.

_Chris could see her on the floor with a charred hole through her chest where Wyatt had thrown an energy ball at her. She still had a look of shock on her face. Chris looked at Wyatt. Wyatt glared and said, "You tell them all to leave me alone little brother, or I'll do the same to all of them."_

_Chris couldn't speak as Wyatt left in a haze of black orbs. Chris said, "Mom?"_

_He slowly walked over to her and reached for her hand. He knelt down and held her hand as he said louder, "Mom!"_

_He looked up and yelled, "DAD!!"_

_Leo immediately orbed in. He rushed to Piper's side and held his hands over her to heal her. Nothing happened. He yelled, "NO!"_

_He tried again to heal her to no avail, and then looked over at Chris. Leo looked back at Piper and reached up to close her blank staring eyes. This time Chris was the one to yell, "NO! Mom! Please no!"_

_Leo pulled Chris into a crushing hug and held onto him while they both cried._

As Piper went in to check on Chris she could see him tossing and turning in his sleep. She heard him say "Mom." in a desperate voice.

She went over to him and put a hand on his forehead. She whispered said, "It's okay Chris. I'm here. You sleep now."

Chris rolled over and sighed. Piper patted his back and went to check on Wyatt. Piper ran into Leo in the hallway coming out of Wyatt's room. They smiled at each other and Piper went to Wyatt while Leo went to Chris. Leo sat in the armchair that was next to Chris' bed. He stayed up for three hours just watching his sleeping son. Eventually he fell asleep.

The next morning Chris woke up and looked around. The events of the night before came rushing back to him when he noticed that he was back in his room at the manor, and that Leo was asleep in the chair beside his bed. Chris shook his head and orbed back to the room at P3. He started pacing around the room thinking. He didn't know what the hell he was going to say to his parents. He was sure they would be coming for him in a few minutes, but he couldn't think of anything good to say. Two minutes after he had gotten there, Leo orbed in. Chris panicked and started to orb. Leo raised his voice and said, "Chris!"

Chris was startled into staying where he was. Leo said, "Running isn't going to help son, I can follow you wherever you go."

Chris knew this was true. He crossed his arms defensively and said, "What do you want Leo?"

Leo raised his eyebrows at that. "I want you to come home and talk to me and your mom."

"Why?"

"You know why Chris."

"Fine. I'm sorry I hit you. I was under the influence of the spider demon. It's not like you can't heal yourself."

Leo shook his head. "You were yourself in the end, and me being able to heal myself has nothing to do with the fact that you are so hurt and angry."

"You know what? Maybe this conversation would mean something to me if I was still a kid. As it is, you're too late. Could we please just get past it and concentrate on Wyatt. You're usually pretty good at that."

"I think it's time to concentrate on you."

"I know, why don't you write me a letter about it. While you do that, I'll do something important like look at the book of shadows and try to find out who is after Wyatt!"

Leo remembered that during the Genie incident Chris had told him that his father had often written him letters of apology, and that another one from him wasn't going to 'matter a whole hell of a lot.' Leo shook his head. "I don't think I'll be writing you any letters. I think it will be face to face from now on."

Chris rolled his eyes, not believing it in the least. "Tell you what, I'll go home and make nice with Mom if you'll go away. I'm sure the Elders need you more then we do here."

Leo shook his head. "I've already decided to stay. I won't be going away again until your mother and I have made sure that both you and Wyatt are safe."

"Jesus Leo! Do you really think I'm buying into this lode of garbage you're trying to sell me?" Chris made his voice slightly deeper as he mocked Leo; "I'll stick around this time. I won't put Wyatt first like I always have before. We'll be a happy family." Chris glared at Leo and went back to his normal voice when he said, "Get bent Dad."

Chris orbed away and Leo just stood there staring at the spot Chris had vacated a few seconds ago. Leo was a whitelighter, and whitelighters were pacifists by nature, but he was also a father. This time the father in him won out. He glared at the spot Chris had left and said, "I don't think so."

Leo closed his eyes and concentrated on finding his son. He found him at the entrance to the spider demon's cave. Leo orbed there. Chris was standing there looking at the entrance, but knew when Leo arrived behind him. He said, "Just leave me alone for a little while Leo. I'll come home in a few hours."

Leo held his hand out and closed his eyes. Some blue light came out of Chris' back and was absorbed into Leo's hand. Chris immediately felt it and spun around in time to see the last of the light going into Leo. He said, "What the hell did you just do to me?!"

Leo opened his eyes and gave Chris a sad look. "I think you know."

Chris did know, but couldn't believe it. He tired to orb, and then tried again. He knew that as an Elder, Leo had the power to revoke Chris' orbing abilities, but he never would have believed his father possible of actually doing it. When he found he couldn't orb, he glared at Leo and said with a deadly calm, "Put it back."

Leo said, "No. We're going home."

Chris started to say, 'No we're not!' But he was only able to get out, "No we….." before Leo had taken the three steps to reach him. Leo grabbed his upper arm and orbed them home to the manor.

They arrived in the living room and Chris yanked his arm out of Leo's grasp. He said, "How dare you!"

Leo crossed his arms and said, "Sit down."

Chris yelled at the top of his lungs, "Screw you!"

Chris turned to leave the room and almost ran into Piper and Wyatt. Piper was standing there in her pajamas holding Wyatt, who was eating part of a banana. Both of them were looking at Chris with shock. Before anyone could say anything else, Wyatt's face crumbled and he started to cry.

Chris had grown somewhat attached to baby Wyatt over the past six months, even though he really hadn't intended to. It was so different to see Wyatt happy and so much smaller then him, that it was hard not to like him. Now Wyatt was crying because he had yelled, and Chris felt bad about it. Wyatt reached up to him, and Chris sighed and reached out for Wyatt. Piper handed him over. Chris patted Wyatt's back and said, "It's okay buddy. You're fine, I'm not mad at you."

Wyatt sniffed a few times and leaned his head on Chris. A few seconds later he sat up and noticed the banana that was still in his hand and took another bite. Piper said, "What is all the yelling about?"

Chris glared at Leo but said nothing. Leo said, "Chris didn't want to come home, and I made him."

Piper looked confused, "Made him?"

"I clipped his wings."

"You mean…..you mean he can't orb? I didn't know you could do that."

Leo looked back at Chris and said again, "Sit down."

Chris wanted to yell and storm out, but found it difficult to do with Wyatt in his arms. He gave Leo his best 'I hate you' stare and went to sit on the couch. As soon as he sat, Wyatt squirmed down and toddled over to Leo. Leo picked him up and turned to Piper. "Is Phoebe here?"

"No, she already went to work."

"Paige?"

At that point Paige was coming down the stairs and said, "Did I hear my name?"

Leo said, "Morning. Do you have any temp jobs today?"

"Nope."

"Would you mind getting Wyatt dressed and taking him to magic school for about an hour?"

Paige saw Chris sitting back against the couch with his arms crossed and obviously tense and pissed off. She nodded and said, "Sure, I'll take him."

Paige held out her hands to Wyatt and smiled. "Hey Wyatt, do you want to come with Aunt Paige to magic school today?"

Wyatt happily went to her, and she took him upstairs to get him dressed. Once they were out of the room, Piper went and sat down next to Chris on the couch. She put a hand on his knee and asked, "Why didn't you come home last night when I called you?"

Chris refused to look at her, and kept his eyes on the coffee table in front of the couch. "Because I wanted to be alone." Then he muttered, "As if what I want matters around here."

Leo crossed his arms again and said, "Let's try to have a talk without the sarcasm."

Piper tried to stay calm and kept her voice level as she said, "I know that in the future you are used to dealing with things on your own, but for now you don't have to. You live here with your family, and we all love you, so let us help."

"You can't help."

Piper was getting irritated with his stubborn refusal to open up to her. "Well if you won't talk to us, we probably won't be able to help."

Chris didn't say anything. Piper said, "Look at me Chris."

Chris glared over at her. She said, "Why were you punching your father even after you were back to normal last night?"

Chris looked away again. A few seconds later Piper prompted, "I expect an answer Chris."

He said with venom at the coffee table, "Because I hate him."

Leo felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. Piper said, "Why?"

"Lots of reasons, but you know I can't talk about them."

Piper shook her head. She reached over, grabbed Chris' chin, and forced him to look at her again. "You don't hate him. Maybe you hate who he becomes in your future, but you don't hate the man standing here right now. He hasn't done anything to make you hate him, and he doesn't deserve your anger."

Chris' glare turned to a look of uncertainty. His voice didn't hold much anger when he said, "But he's going to become that man."

Leo walked a couple of steps to the coffee table and sat in front of Chris and Piper. Chris looked over at Leo who said, "No Chris, I'm not. I'm committed to making a different future." He looked at Piper and said, "Both of us are."

Piper brought Chris' face around to look at her again and said, "And even if Leo does become that man, he isn't that man now. You need to get to know him and give him a chance to get to know you. And I truly believe if you open up to us, and let us know what went so wrong in the future, we will be able to make a new future for all of us."

Piper let go of Chris' chin. He looked at her with pleading eyes. "How can you keep defending him Mom? He's been gone for the past six months! He just left us. Why aren't you angry about that?"

Piper put a comforting hand on the side of his face when she said, "Because I know how hard it was for him to leave, and I know that he did it because he thought it was what was best for his family."

Chris had gotten pretty close to Piper over the past month. They both worried over each other, and he had quite a few new happy memories of spending time with her. He knew that she was right, and that what she was saying was true. He knew that the Leo in this time hadn't done anything to hurt him. But knowing that didn't make the feelings that were swirling around inside him go away or change. Chris stood up abruptly and backed away from both of his parents. He said with fresh anger, "Best for his family?! Are you blind! He LEFT us, even though he KNEW Wyatt was in danger! If he were any kind of REAL father he would have STAYED!!"

Chris turned and started to storm away. Piper glared at her son's back raised one of her hands and flicked it at his backside. Chris felt a surge of pain in his butt that felt something like a mild electric shock. He yelped and put both hands behind him to cover his butt as he spun around to look at his mother with disbelief.

Leo reached up and put his hand over Piper's and put it back down in her lap. His voice held disapproval as he said, "Piper."

Piper turned her glare to Leo, and once he saw the look, he held his tongue and let go of her hand. Piper pointed at Chris, glared and said, "Christopher Wyatt Halliwell, you get back here, sit down on this couch, and have a civil conversation with us right now."

Chris was so stunned he almost didn't believe it had happened. He knew his mom tended to have a short temper, and that it was worse with the pregnancy, but she had never used her powers on him. Chris thought, 'She may have yelled pretty often, and grounded me sometimes, but she certainly never used her powers on me….or Wyatt. She never even spanked us. The only one who ever did that was Grandpa.'

Chris shook his head not needing to bring up that memory. He rubbed his butt once and knew that his mother really had done it, because it still stung. He dropped his hands to his sides and slowly walked back to the couch. He could feel his face getting bright red with embarrassment as the reality of what had happened came to him. He kept his face down and sat back down on the couch as far away from Piper as he could.

Piper said, "Thank you. Now Leo, why don't you explain why you left."

Leo looked back and forth between Chris and Piper, not really knowing what to think about this turn of events. After a few seconds of silence he looked at Chris' bent head and said, "I had more then one conversation with Gideon, and with some of the other Elders about my situation. They all seemed to be in agreement that my staying here while I was an Elder myself, was doing more harm then good to my family. They said that I was putting you all in danger by staying here, and that the best way I could help my family was to leave. Then after that darklighter specifically targeted me, and put Piper in danger too….I believed them. Now I think they were wrong. I should have stayed. Of course it would have made it easier to make the correct decision if you had been honest with us up front Chris."

Chris looked up at Leo for the first time since sitting back down. He said, "But I couldn't."

Leo leaned forward and looked intently at Chris. "Yes you could have, and you should have. The minute you got here, you should have told us who you really were, instead of making up some story and sending me to Valhalla. That was you, wasn't it?"

Chris looked away and gave a slight nod. Leo continued, "Then over the next few months you spent all kinds of time and energy trying to manipulate all of us to get us to do what you thought needed to be done. It would have been so much easier to just tell us the truth. We could have all worked together as a family and probably gotten a lot more done. We might have already found out how Wyatt turns evil…..unless that was a lie too, and you already know what happens to him."

Chris looked back up with surprise and shook his head no. "I don't. I swear."

Leo nodded. "Okay, I believe you. But you have to be up front and honest with us from now on Chris. You can't hold out on us, or try to manipulate us to get your way. You have to tell us what's going on, and give us all the information you have, so that your mother and I can make the right choices for this family."

The room was silent for a second, and then Leo said, "Can you agree to do that Chris?"

Chris didn't know if he really could, but he gave a slight nod anyway. Leo smiled. "Good."

Piper smiled too and said, "So where do we go from here?"

Leo had been thinking about that. He said, "If you don't mind Piper, I'd like to stay here until we know both boys are safe."

"Of course. I think that's a good idea."

"And I think this next week Chris can spend his time with me."

Piper nodded and Chris yelled, "What?!"

Leo said, "For the next week you and I will spend pretty much all of our time together, like it or not. If you want to go investigate a demon, I'll go with you. If one of the sisters needs help, we'll go help them together. If one of my old charges needs help, you will come with me to help them. And while we're together, you can tell me everything you know about what happens to turn Wyatt evil, and you can list all the reasons you hate future me."

Chris shook his head and said, "No way."

Leo said with calm, "I wasn't asking you if you wanted to Chris, I was telling you what's going to happen."

Chris was incredulous and it showed in his voice, "So you're like grounding me or something? It's a little late in life for that don't you think?"

Leo said, "It's never too late to get close to your family."

Chris looked over at Piper and pleaded, "Mom?"

Piper leaned over and kissed Chris on the forehead. She agreed with Leo, and decided to change the subject. "You're still in the clothes you were wearing yesterday. Why don't you go take a shower and get changed, while I make us all some breakfast."

Piper stood up and went to the kitchen. Leo patted Chris on the knee and said, "It'll be good for us. You'll see."

Leo got up to follow Piper. Chris said, "Hey, what about orbing. Now that we've talked, are you going to put it back?"

Leo turned around and gave Chris a thoughtful look. He said, "If I do, will you promise to stay with me for the next week? No running off?"

Chris would have agreed to anything at that point, and said, "Yes."

Leo held his hand up, but before he closed his eyes he said, "You better not be lying about this, because I can and will take it away again if you break your promise."

Leo closed his eyes, and a blue light left his hand and went into Chris' chest. Chris felt it, and immediately orbed to his room. Leo was surprised by the sudden orb, and was worried that Chris had already tried to run off, until he sensed that Chris was up in his room. Leo knew he would have to monitor Chris' whereabouts for the next couple of days, and made sure that a little part of his focus was always on where Chris was. He went to the kitchen to help Piper.

Chris stood in his room thankful that he could orb again, but not quite believing what had happened. He was angry that his father had made this decision even though Chris had made it clear that he didn't agree. But Chris also felt a little bit of hope, even though he tried to deny it. For the first time since coming back in time, he actually believed that maybe the future he went back to really would be different.

He gathered up some clean clothes and went into the bathroom. He told himself along the way that it wasn't because his mom had told him to. It was because a shower sounded good. He turned on the water, and as he was undressing he realized his butt still kind of stung. He frowned as he got in the shower and let the hot water run over him. He had mixed feelings about what his mother had done. He knew that she loved him, and he didn't exactly think she had been wrong to do it, but he thought it was a little odd that she would choose to do it now that he was an adult. As he started to wash his hair, he couldn't help but think about the one and only spanking he had ever received in his twenty-two years.

***********

Eight years ago

Three days after her death, the family held a funeral for Piper. It was just a small group of friends and family. After the service Leo, Paige, Phoebe, Chris, and Victor had all gone back to the manor. They all sat in silence staring at various flower arrangements, and platters of food that people had sent. Leo looked over at Chris, who looked so much like Piper, that he had to look away. Then he looked at Victor and said, "I need to ask you a favor Victor."

"Anything."

"I need you to watch Chris for a little while."

Everyone looked over at Leo. Leo said, "It's not safe for him to be around us right now, because we don't know if Wyatt is going to try and come after us next."

Chris thought he should protest, but he didn't. He hadn't cried at the funeral. In fact, he hadn't cried since the day Piper had been killed. He felt like he was walking around in a daze, and when he wasn't numb he was angry. Chris was angry with his father for not being able to heal his mom, angry with his mom for trying to stop Wyatt, and angry with himself for not doing more to stop Wyatt. But mostly he was angry with Wyatt for what he had done.

Victor shook his head and said, "But Chris needs to be with you now more then ever."

Leo looked away and said, "I…..I can't loose him too. With you, I know he'll be relatively safe. Wyatt doesn't see either of you as a threat. He won't go after you. He will be coming after his aunts and me. And the three of us need to find a way to stop him, and change him back. Something has turned him evil, and we need to find out what that is."

Chris mumbled, "Something a long time ago."

Leo had heard this before. He had never really believed Chris when Chris had come to him to tell him about the things Wyatt had done. He always assumed Chris was just trying to get attention. He walked over to Chris who was sitting on a chair. He knelt down in front of him and pulled him into a hug. He said, "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you Chris. All those years….you tried to tell me, but I just didn't want to believe. I won't doubt you again, I promise."

Chris nodded and hugged Leo back, but he didn't really believe him. Leo looked over at Victor and said, "Please. Just for a while. I'm not sure how long it will take to help Wyatt."

Victor eventually nodded.

The first two weeks were strained for both Victor and Chris, but as they got through each day things became more routine for them. But even as he settled into his new living arrangement, Chris couldn't stop thinking about what Wyatt had done, and he couldn't forgive him the way his father wanted him to. Chris had nightmares about the day his mother died at least once a night, but by the second week he no longer yelled out and brought his Grandfather running in the middle of the night. He knew that Paige, Phoebe, and Leo were all trying to come up with a way to save Wyatt, but Chris didn't want him saved. Chris wanted revenge.

In his fourteen years, Chris had seen the real Wyatt even when his parents couldn't. He knew from experience that while Wyatt might play nice in front of his parents, the second they turned around Wyatt was hurting small animals for enjoyment, and finding new and inventive ways to hurt Chris. Chris knew the real Wyatt, and wanted him dead. But he also knew that Wyatt was ten times more powerful then he was.

Over the past two weeks, Chris had been formulating a plan. He knew he couldn't hope to fight Wyatt with magic, and he couldn't fight him with regular weapons because of his protective bubble. But as Chris had been waking up in the middle of the night lately, he had begun to wonder what would happen if he tried to kill Wyatt in his sleep.

Once that idea was in his head, it wouldn't go away, and two weeks after the funeral Chris decided to try it. He waited in bed until he heard Victor go to sleep. Fifteen minutes later he snuck down to the kitchen and grabbed a butcher knife. He thought about closing his eyes to try and sense Wyatt so he could orb to him, but he realized Wyatt would be able to sense him at the same time. So instead Chris just orbed to a place he had been before in the underworld while fighting demons with his parents. There was no one around, so he started to wander.

Soon he came across two female demons talking to each other. Chris hid the knife by sticking the blade down the side of his pants. The handle was sticking up out of the waste band of his jeans, but he covered it with his shirt. He walked up to the demons and said with a confidence he didn't feel, "Where's Wyatt?"

The taller of the girls was brunette, and the shorter was blond. Both were dressed in black leather, but very little of it. Both girls looked at each other, and then smiled at Chris wondering if he would make a good toy. The taller girl said, "Who?"

Chris rolled his eyes and said with irritation, "You know, the all powerful evil kid who's starting to unite the underworld as we speak."

The blond tilted her head to the side and said, "That blond kid?"

The taller girl said, "He was kind of cute, except that he killed Mick."

"He's still cute. Mick was an idiot. You're better off without him."

Chris said a little louder, "Where is he?"

The tall girl gave him a thoughtful look and said, "Who wants to know?"

Chris held up his hands and used his telekinesis to throw her against the wall of the cave as hard as he could. His powers were still forming, and that took a huge amount of effort for him, but he tried not to let it show. The girl yelled, "OW!" as she hit the ground. She got up holding her shoulder. Chris smiled at her and tried to look menacing as he said, "I'm his brother, and if you don't want to end up like Mick, you should tell me where he is. I've killed my share of demons, you wouldn't be my first."

The shorter girl said, "He's staying with a group of demons who are already following him. Last I saw, they were about two miles that direction."

She pointed and Chris nodded and headed that way. Half an hour later he was hiding behind a large boulder watching Wyatt interact with the demons. He hid there for three hours until Wyatt and his followers finally went to sleep. Chris waited another half an hour before getting up the nerve to come out from behind the rock.

He walked up to the cot Wyatt was sleeping in. He looked down at his brother and slipped the knife out of his pants. He held it with both hands, raised it up over his head, and then just stood there. He tried to make himself bring the knife down into the center of Wyatt's chest. He thought about his mom lying dead on the floor from Wyatt's hand. He thought about the various times that Wyatt had hurt him, both physically and mentally. But still he couldn't bring the knife down. About three minutes later in a very calm voice, and with his eyes still closed, Wyatt said, "What's stopping you little brother?"

Chris stepped back away from the cot and the knife clattered to the floor as he dropped it. Wyatt opened one eye and looked at Chris as he said, "Pussy."

Wyatt sat up and continued, "Not that it would have done you any good, but at least it would have shown that you had some balls if you'd tried to bring the knife down."

Chris started to shake with fear and anger. Wyatt smirked. "Did you really think I wouldn't be able to sense you the second you were in the underworld?"

Chris started to orb home, but Wyatt put his hand up and said, "No orbing."

Chris tried to orb anyway, but knew it was futile. One of the things that made Wyatt the most powerful witch around was that he didn't have to make rhymes. He just had to think something as he said it and it came true. Chris knew from experience the best thing to do was to keep his mouth shut.

Wyatt sighed and stood up. "I have enough to deal with right now. I'm trying to prove myself to the underworld so I can unite it. And I have to keep dealing with our Aunts and Dad. I don't need you in the mix too. The only reason I'm not killing you tonight is because I want to find a way to turn you. Imagine it Chris. With you on my side working with me, we could rule the underworld AND the topside too. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to rule both, with or without you, but it would be easier and faster to do with you. But then again maybe I'll just find a way to make you stick with me even though you're good. I've always enjoyed watching you squirm, and I would miss that if you were evil or gone."

Chris felt sick. He berated himself for not trying to kill his brother when he had the chance. Wyatt smiled, and a note of excitement came into his voice when he said, "Hey, I know! You wanna watch while I summon Aunt Phoebe and kill her?"

Chris got pale and shook his head no. He whispered, "Please no Wyatt. Please don't. I'll do anything you say, just don't."

Wyatt laughed loudly. "See, I would miss our little talks if you were gone."

Wyatt got serious again. "Well this was fun, but I need some sleep before tomorrow."

Wyatt advanced on Chris. Chris cringed and covered his head. Wyatt said, "A cringe just for me? You're so endearing Chris."

He grabbed Chris' upper arm in an overly hard grip and orbed them to their Grandfather's house. They arrived in the living room and Wyatt shoved Chris to the floor as hard as he could. Wyatt pointed to the couch and said, "Grandpa."

Victor awoke from a deep sleep to find himself on the couch. He was startled and got himself into a sitting position quickly. Wyatt flicked on the lights from across the room and watched as Chris winced and got himself up off the floor.

Wyatt gave Victor a smile and said, "Hi Grandpa. I've heard that you're looking after Chris for a while. Is that true?"

Victor's only thought was that he had to keep himself and Chris alive by agreeing to whatever Wyatt wanted. Victor nodded. Wyatt said sarcastically, "How nice." Then he looked over at Chris and said, "Little brother here attempted to kill me tonight."

Victor looked over at Chris with disbelief, and Chris kept his eyes on the floor, too ashamed to look up. Wyatt looked fondly at Chris and said, "You should have seen it Grandpa, it was cute,……but I really don't have time to deal with it right now, and it would be a shame to have to kill him before I have the chance to bring him over to my side. Can I count on you to keep him away from me for the next couple of years?"

Victor said with sincerity, "You have my word."

Wyatt nodded and started to orb. Then he stopped and said, "Oops. Almost forgot."

He held his hand up towards Chris and said, "No orbing for a month." He looked over at Victor and said, "Just to make things easier on all of us."

Wyatt orbed away. Victor let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. The room was silent for a few seconds. Victor stood and walked over to Chris. Chris didn't look up, and Victor pulled him into a tight hug. Victor kept thinking that he had almost lost Chris so soon after loosing Piper. A few seconds into the hug, Victor let go and grabbed both of Chris' upper arms. Victor leaned down so they were eye to eye and he said, "Is it true Chris? Did you try to kill Wyatt tonight?"

Chris had tears in his eyes when he nodded. Victor's face held a grim expression as he sat down on the edge of the coffee table and pulled Chris over his lap. Chris had never been spanked, but he knew from the position what Victor planned to do. He yelled, "Grandpa no! Don't!"

In response Victor brought his hand down hard on the center of Chris' butt. Chris yelled, "Owwww!"

Victor put one hand on Chris' back to hold him in place, and continued to spank him with the other. During the next few swats Chris yelled, "Grandpa….Oww! Owwww! I'm Sorry!!!"

Once Victor had gotten to ten, Chris' legs were kicking and he was squirming around trying to avoid the swats. Victor could hear that Chris was crying quietly. Victor gave him six more even harder swats where Chris' bottom and thighs met, so that he would be reminded of this the next day whenever he decided to sit down. By the end of that, Chris was crying loudly. Victor stopped as abruptly as he had started. He looked down at his grandson, and gently picked him up. He turned Chris and sat him on his lap so that his legs were off one side and his butt was off the other. Victor held him close and started rubbing soothing circles on his back while he waited for the tears to slow down. Chris hugged Victor back and leaned his head on his Grandfather's chest while he cried. They sat that way for quite a while. When the tears had mostly stopped Chris said, "I miss Mom."

That statement started new tears. Victor hugged him a little tighter and said, "I miss her too." as a few tears slid down his own face.

Victor knew that Chris needed to grieve for the loss of his mother, and thought it was a good thing that he was finally crying about it, instead of walking around like a little zombie. Victor again just let him cry and started rocking them both back and forth a little. Half an hour later Chris was asleep in his arms. Victor winced and his back complained when he picked Chris up and carried him over to the couch. Chris was so exhausted he didn't even wake up as Victor laid him down on his side. Victor went and got a blanket off Chris' bed, and covered him up.

The next morning Victor woke first, and got ready for the day. He decided to call in sick, and to keep Chris home from school. Once he had made those two phone calls, he went to the kitchen and made some coffee. He let Chris sleep in an hour before waking him up. Chris groaned as he woke up. He felt sore all over, and his head hurt. Then as he rolled over and sat up, he remembered last night. He looked up at his grandfather who was standing beside the couch, and his face got bright red as he thought about what had happened.

Victor affectionately ruffled Chris' hair and said, "Go get ready for the day, and I'll make us some breakfast."

Chris nodded, and was relieved to get away without having to talk about what had happened. Every once in a while as he was getting dressed and brushing his teeth, he would reach back and rub his butt. He was glad that the worst of the sting had gone away, but it was still sore, and he figured it probably would be all day. He couldn't believe his grandfather had spanked him, and he was very sure he didn't want to ever give him a reason to do it again.

He stalled a little while in the bathroom, not wanting to go down and face him, but he knew he would have to be in school soon, so he eventually went down. When he got downstairs he checked the clock on the wall and said, "Crap, I'm late."

He called out, "Grandpa, can you drive me to school? I'm late."

Victor came out of the kitchen and said, "I called in for you. We're both staying home today."

"Oh…."

Victor motioned to him and said, "Come eat some breakfast."

Chris followed Victor into the kitchen and saw that he had made pancakes, which was Chris' favorite thing to eat for breakfast. Chris was a little tentative, but made his way over to the table. Victor had everything on the table already, and sat down. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Chris sat carefully and put one pancake on his plate. Victor ate some of his pancakes, and tried not to be obvious about watching Chris. Once Chris was done with the first one, he stole a look over at his grandfather thinking how odd it was that Victor seemed to be treating this like any other breakfast. Chris looked back at his plate and got two more pancakes. Victor finished off his and sipped his coffee until Chris was done. Once Chris pushed his plate away Victor said, "I think we need to talk about last night Chris."

Suddenly the food in Chris' stomach felt less satisfying. In fact it felt kind of like a big lump. Chris turned sad eyes to Victor and said, "I'm really sorry Grandpa."

Victor nodded and said, "I know you are, but I want to know what you're sorry for."

Chris squirmed a little and said, "For trying to kill Wyatt?"

Victor shook his head and said, "No Chris, I don't want you trying to guess what I want to hear. I want you to really think about it, and tell me why you're sorry. You won't be in trouble for you're honesty."

Chris looked down and thought about it for a few minutes. He looked back up at Victor and said, "I'm sorry I couldn't kill him. I'm sorry I couldn't protect mom. I'm sorry he got you involved."

Victor nodded and thought about what Chris had said. "Do you know why I spanked you?"

Chris turned red and said, "Because I tried to kill him?"

Victor sighed and said; "Well that's part of it, but it's certainly not all of it. The first reason was that you snuck out of the house in the middle of the night. I have to know where you are all the time Chris, especially with Wyatt on the loose. So that was part of it."

Chris nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm sorry about that too."

"Then the second, and biggest reason was that you put yourself in danger. I am not about to loose you too. Your mother's death was a huge blow to this entire family, and I don't even have the words to explain how much worse it would be if you were gone too."

Chris shook his head and said, "I don't think Dad would notice."

Victor had to count to ten in his head before responding. "Why do you say that Chris?"

"He hasn't been back. It's been two weeks, and he hasn't even visited. Not once."

Victor could see Chris was close to tears. He reached over and put his hand over Chris'. "He sent you two letters."

Chris nodded, and then looked over at Victor. A tear did spill out of his eye when he said, "He didn't come last night. He had to sense that I was hurt and in pain. He didn't even show up."

Victor scooted his chair back and pulled Chris over to sit in his lap. Victor said, "I'm sure he had his reasons Chris. Maybe he knew what was going on, and he agreed with me."

Chris tried to stop crying, but it didn't work. He shook his head and said, "He just doesn't care."

Victor pushed Chris back just enough so that he could look in his face. He said, "That's not true Chris, but even if it were, I do care. I wouldn't want to keep going if I lost you too. No parent should have to outlive his or her child. I've outlived two of my children, and my wife. I couldn't take it if I lost you as well. So no matter what I have to do, I'm going to make sure you stay safe. Even if it means coming down hard on you when you do something dangerous. Do you understand me?"

Chris nodded, and Victor pulled him back into a hug. After a few minutes Victor could tell the crying was tapering off. He said quietly, "The last reason I spanked you, was that you tried to kill Wyatt. You know that Leo and your aunts are trying to find a way to save Wyatt, and I think you know that your mother would want them to try. If they find a way to save him, at least your mother's death won't be in vain."

Chris nodded in understanding. A few minutes later Chris sat up and looked at his Grandpa when he said, "Thanks."

Victor wiped the tears off Chris' face and smiled at him when he said, "What for?"

Chris shrugged and said, "For talking to me I guess."

"Anytime Chris."

***********

Present time:

Chris noticed the water was getting cold and got out of the shower. He quickly dried off and got dressed. He looked at himself in the mirror. He thought about spending the next week with Leo and said to himself, "You're screwed. But I guess if it eventually prevents Wyatt from going bad, it will all be worth it. And if things are different in the future with Mom and Dad…..that will just be an added bonus."

He took a deep breath and went downstairs. He found his parents in the kitchen setting the table. He sat down, and Piper brought over a plate of pancakes, which made Chris smile.


	3. Chapter 3

Home Again Chapter 2

When breakfast started, Chris was subdued. After a few minutes of quiet eating, Leo turned to Piper and asked, "How have you been feeling with this pregnancy?"

Piper smiled at him and said, "Pretty good right now. I had a lot more morning sickness this time around. I was……ill pretty much every day a couple of times a day for the first four, almost five months."

Leo nodded, and Chris felt guilty. Piper continued, "And now that we know Chris doesn't have a protective bubble the way Wyatt did, I'm a little more nervous about demons attacking."

Chris muttered, "Do we have to keep bringing that up?"

Piper gave Chris a thoughtful look. "I don't think you should be jealous of Wyatt's powers Chris. Being the oldest and most powerful comes with it's own set of issues and responsibilities. I know your Aunt Prue wasn't always happy that she was who she was."

Chris had nothing nice to say to that and kept his mouth shut. Leo said to Piper, "If you're really worried about it, you and Wyatt could move to magic school for the next three months. I'm sure there would be room for the both of you in one of the dormitories. Then you would be fairly safe even if a demon did attack."

Piper thought about it. Chris thought about it for a second, and wondered why he hadn't thought about it before. It sounded like the perfect solution to the problem of protecting Wyatt. He said, "I think that's a great idea, Mom. You should definitely do it."

Piper said, "I'll think about it. Not right now, but maybe in the last month when I can't get around as well."

Leo nodded. Chris persisted, "Why not move there now? It would be a lot safer for both of you, and we could spend more time concentrating on searching out demons who might have it in for Wyatt instead of protecting you."

"Kids like routines. It would be really hard on Wyatt to leave everything that was familiar to him and start living somewhere else. And besides, last I heard I was the only one who could blow up demons when they attack us, so I should be staying here to help protect all of you."

Chris scoffed, "Wyatt practically lives at magic school already. He may sleep here, but he's there all the time. I don't think it would be a hard adjustment for him at all. And just because you can blow up demons, doesn't mean that the rest of us are……"

Leo interrupted with his usual calm voice, "Chris."

Chris looked over at Leo, and Leo said, "She said she'd think about it."

"But I don't think she….."

Leo held up a hand and said, "Piper is perfectly capable of making her own decisions."

Chris was furious with Leo for daring to interrupt him while he was badgering his mother, and said in a snotty voice, "Yeah, because you guys made such great choices the first time around."

Piper clearly annoyed said, "And you've been making such great choices since you've been here."

Chris sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Fine. Don't listen to me."

Leo said, "Are you done eating?"

Chris gave a slight nod. Leo said, "What do you have planned to do today?"

"I was going to look in the book of shadows and pick out the next demon that I think is most likely to try and hurt Wyatt. I've been going through the book systematically, and trying to eliminate each of the upper level demons who might benefit from turning Wyatt evil."

Leo nodded and said, "Okay, we'll do that together."

Chris said with very little enthusiasm, "Great."

Leo stood, and Chris did too. Piper started to clear the table, and both men walked upstairs to the attic. Once in the attic Chris stood in front of the pedestal that usually housed the Book of Shadows. He opened it, and started scanning pages. Leo stood to the side and slightly behind Chris. Chris tried to concentrate on the book but was acutely aware of Leo standing there looking over his shoulder. About two minutes later, Chris couldn't take it. He kept looking at the book but said, "Stop hovering!"

Leo was a little surprised and saddened that Chris couldn't even stand to be near him without it bugging him. Leo walked over to the couch and sat down. Leo decided to try and break through the barrier with normal conversation. "What characteristics are you looking for specifically to decide which demon to go after?"

Chris sighed with annoyance and said, "I would think that would be obvious Leo."

"Humor me."

Chris talked slowly as if talking to a child, "I'm looking for any demon who might have a reason to want Wyatt evil."

Leo, who had the patients of a saint, felt some irritation but didn't let it show in his voice. "But that could be any of them. Anything more specific?"

Chris turned the page he was looking at more quickly then was necessary, and kept his eyes on the book as he said, "Maybe if you'd shut up I could concentrate, and actually find something useful."

Leo stood, and couldn't keep the irritation from his voice as he said, "Look Chris, it's obvious that you hate my guts, but you're going to have to find a way to work with me anyway. And I'm sorry, but I'm not going to just sit by and take abuse from you for the next week."

"I already told you how we can work together. You stay quiet, and let me do what I need to do." Chris looked up at Leo and continued, "It's really not even that hard."

Leo held up his hand and showed Chris the space of half an inch between his finger and thumb as he said, "You're about this close to spending the rest of the day in your room with no orbing abilities."

Chris bristled, and thought of at least ten insults he would like to toss at Leo. But he didn't want to take the chance that Leo really would take away his orbing, so he took a deep breath to calm himself down. He mumbled an insincere, "Sorry."

Leo thought that was a step in the right direction. He nodded and said, "Now I don't mind if you need the room to be quiet while you concentrate on looking through the book. Next time just try to be nice about it."

Chris gave a slight nod and worked hard at keeping his voice level as he said, "Actually Leo, I would be able to concentrate better if you weren't in the room. Maybe you could go help Piper for about an hour, and then I'll tell you which demon I've decided to go after."

Leo thought about it. He was glad that Chris had calmed down enough to talk in a reasonable tone, but he didn't think it would start the week off on the right foot if he left Chris alone for the first hour. Leo shook his head. "Sorry. I'll stay on the couch, and keep quite for you, but you're going to have to get used to working with me around."

Chris flipped another page in anger and said, "Fine."

Leo went to the couch and sat down to meditate for a little while to try and calm himself down. It took Chris about five minutes, but soon he was able to block out the fact that Leo was in the room, and concentrated on the book. He'd been through the book enough times in his life, that he had large sections of it mostly memorized. But he went through it page by page again looking for anything he might have missed.

As he was looking, he came across a page dedicated to a demon named Samantha. He had always thought that was a funny name for a demon, especially because of the Bewitched TV show. He had never paid that much attention to the entry until today. Piper's mom, Patty, had written the entry. Chris took a look over at Leo and saw that he was meditating. Chris rolled his eyes in annoyance, and looked back at the book. It had a picture of Samantha. Chris thought she was very pretty. She was smiling and had blond hair and blue eyes. The entry read:

SAMANTHA – a 'Vorish' demon. Samantha is an upper level demon who prays on pregnant witches, and their unborn babies. Once she chooses a victim, she starts to push her way into that person's life through false friendship. She is always outwardly kind and pleasant to be around. Samantha will remain friendly and supportive of the witch, until the witch is six months pregnant. Then some time during that sixth month, Samantha will attempt to slip a special potion to the witch. This potion knocks the witch out, and allows Samantha time to perform a ritual. During this ritual, if everything is successful, the baby is magically transferred into Samantha's body. Then Samantha will try to hide for the next three months until the baby is born. Samantha will slowly feed off the baby's soul during those three months until it is completely gone. She will become even more young and beautiful during this process. By the time the baby is born, it will be a soulless demon, and Samantha will kill it shortly after birth.

The baby can be recovered and put back into it's mother, if it is found within two weeks of being taken with the following spell and potion:

Chris looked at the bottom of the page and saw there was a potion and a spell for getting the baby back into the mother. He also saw there was a potion to vanquish Samantha, and at the very end there was a side note also by Patty. It said in an angry scroll, "Vanquished during my third pregnancy."

Chris read the entire entry one more time as an idea formulated in his mind. No one else knew, but Chris knew his time was running short, and he knew how much easier it would be to concentrate on finding Wyatt's tormenter with Piper and Wyatt safely tucked away at magic school. He doubted that he would be able to talk Piper into going to magic school with Leo interfering all the time, so he would just have to make it more urgent for her.

He read the entry a third time and made plans. As he was staring at the page and lost in his own thoughts, he heard Leo say, "Did you find something?"

Chris had pretty much forgotten that Leo was in the room, and his comment made Chris jump. Leo thought Chris looked a little nervous. Chris tried to cover his nervousness with anger. He slammed the book shut and said, "You said you were going to be quiet!"

Leo looked at Chris with intense scrutiny. He said, "Is there something you're not telling me Chris?"

Chris tried to sound offended, "What?! Don't be ridiculous."

Leo stood up and walked closer to Chris. He looked him in the eyes and said, "What were you just looking at so intently in the book?"

Chris covered with, "I wasn't really looking, I was pausing to think about how screwed up my plans have become now that you and Mom are interfering."

Leo wasn't sure if he believed Chris or not, but he was sure that the day wasn't working very well so far. He said, "Okay Chris, this isn't working. We're gonna try something else. Come sit down on the couch."

Leo walked towards the couch, expecting Chris to follow. Leo went past it and got a pad of paper and a pen from the table that held the supplies to make potions. He turned and noticed Chris was still standing where he had left him. Leo went and sat on the couch and said, "Come here."

Chris really just wanted to be left alone, but knew that wasn't going to happen. He frowned and slowly walked over to the couch. He sat as far away from Leo as possible. Leo handed him the pad of paper and the pen. Leo said, "On that first page write down everything you know about Wyatt turning evil."

Chris lied and said, "I've told you everything I know."

"Well then write down all the things you've told me."

Chris was almost whiny as he said, "Leo, we're wasting time. I need to look through the book."

Leo shook his head. "After your done with that page, you can start a second page that holds all the reasons you hate me."

"You know I can't tell you about the future."

"Well you should know that if you don't start opening up to me and telling me about the future, then you'll be spending a lot of time hanging out around the manor doing not much of anything. I believe that you sincerely want to change the future, but you are trying to accomplish that in the wrong way. Try telling me the truth."

Chris shook his head thinking how ludicrous it all was. Leo tapped the paper with his finger and said, "Write."

Chris studied the paper. He knew he would have to be careful about what he wrote. After a few minutes he wrote, 'Wyatt has been evil since I can remember. Aunt Phoebe told me Wyatt was turned sometime before I was one.'

Chris looked at the paper for a second and then handed it to Leo. Leo shook his head, "That's it? There has to be more then that. Didn't any of us have some theories as to what happened?"

"I don't know, you wouldn't let me hear you guys talk about it when I was fourteen."

"Fourteen?"

Chris realized he had said more then he intended, and didn't respond. Leo continued, "Did something specific happen when you were fourteen?"

Chris didn't see a way around telling Leo something, so he said, "That is when Wyatt leaves home and starts killing innocents."

Leo couldn't bare the thought of that, and all that came out of his mouth was "Oh."

After a few minutes of silence Leo had a handle on his emotions and said, "Write that down too."

Chris did. Then Leo asked, "If Wyatt starts killing innocents at sixteen, then how do we know he was evil as a child."

"We just do."

Leo shook his head. "That's not a good enough answer Chris."

Chris glared at Leo and said, "How do we know? None of you knew until he was sixteen. Wyatt was a master thespian, but I knew all along. None of you would believe me, and I stopped trying to tell you about it early on."

Leo looked down not wanting to believe Chris now. He said quietly, "Write that on page two."

"What exactly?"

"That part of why you hate me is because I didn't believe you when you tried to tell me about Wyatt when you were little."

Chris thought it was stupid, but after a few seconds wrote it down.

Leo said, "How did you know he was evil?"

Chris thought about it and said, "Promise you won't tell Piper?"

Leo said, "I won't lie to her, but if she doesn't ask me specifics, I won't divulge any information."

Chris nodded. "When we were alone he acted differently. He would draw violent pictures and then magically change them to something happy when someone came in the room. He would make his toy action figures torture each other for hours. He started hurting bugs really early on, but by the time he was five it was mice, birds and cats. If I tried to stop him he would hurt me, and then heal me to cover his tracks. When he was about twelve he told me about his plans to take over the world. Said if I told you he'd kill you."

Chris seemed to be lost in thought for a few seconds. When he looked over at Leo, he saw that Leo had a couple of tears running down his face. Chris was uncomfortable, and got up to pace around.

Leo looked at Chris and said, "I'm so sorry."

Chris wasn't sure why, but he felt bad about telling Leo now. He said, "You couldn't have known. He was a totally different kid around everyone else. He knew from an early age the difference between good and evil, and he was extremely good around you and Mom. He enjoyed watching me struggle with that. And as long as I went along with the things he told me to do or not to do, he didn't hurt me."

Leo didn't want to really hear it; he wanted to block it out. But he knew that wouldn't help anything. He wanted more then anything to make it up to Chris, and thought that believing Chris now would help start to heal old wounds. He said, "Tell me about some of the times Wyatt hurt you. Especially if it was a time you told me about it and I didn't believe you."

Chris ran a hand through his hair in frustration and said, "I don't see the purpose of that Leo."

"Do it anyway."

Chris went to sit on the edge of the potion-making table. He said, "Well, Wyatt was smart about it. He didn't hurt me very often, because then I would show obvious signs of being afraid of him. So he only did it when he wanted to prove something to me, or make me do something. When I was three or four he brought a mouse into the room for the first time. I had seen him torture bugs before, but not a mammal. As he nailed one of it's feet to the floor I ran out of the room calling for you. You picked me up, and I told you Wyatt was hurting a mouse. When you got into the room, Wyatt had a stuffed mouse in the place of the live one nailed to the floor. Wyatt said something like he did it because I kept trying to take his toys away. You took the nail out of the stuffed mouse and handed it to Wyatt. You told him to try and be more understanding of me, and you told me to stop taking Wyatt's things. You left the room, and Wyatt said, 'Later tonight, I'll get you for that.'"

Leo said, "And did he?"

"I fell out of bed that night. I landed the wrong way on an action figure, and broke my finger."

After a few seconds Leo said, "Tell me another."

The rest of the morning was filled with what Leo thought of as horror stories. And the worst part was that he was partly to blame, even if he hadn't done it yet, he would have done it if Chris hadn't come back and changed things. Leo was surprised and pleased at how much Chris was opening up to him. He thought it was a good step that Chris was telling him so many details about the future, even if it wasn't exactly relevant to finding out who turned Wyatt. Leo hoped that being heard and believed by his father this time around was helping Chris heal some of the wounds from his past.

Chris had just started yet another story, when Piper knocked and poked her head in the attic door. She was holding Wyatt and said, "Lunch is ready if you guys are hungry."

Leo said, "We'll be down in a little bit."

Piper nodded and went back down. Leo said, "Tell me the rest."

"So you guys left us there even though I asked you to take me with you, but I can see why you would think home was safer then the underworld for me. Wyatt loved it once we were old enough to be left alone in the house, and I should have known better then to go up to our room. But I heard this pitiful noise, and couldn't help myself. He had that damn Excalibur sword of his, and he had found a dog. He had already cut off one of its legs when I got there. I didn't really think about it, I just used my powers and tossed him against the far wall. I ran to the dog and orbed him and his leg to the back door of the local vet where I volunteered. I banged on the door, and as I heard someone answering I orbed home again. I should have stayed away. I had never used my powers on Wyatt before. He was pissed. He didn't even say anything, he just stuck the sword into me about here…."

Chris pointed to an area on his lower abdomen. "…..all the way to the hilt. I think he may have picked me up off the ground with it. It's blurry. He must have yanked it out, and I fell to the ground. He immediately healed me, and as I was becoming more coherent again he said, "Never again little brother. Next time I won't heal you."

The room grew silent, as Chris was lost in his memories. Leo shook his head and said, "Did you try and tell me?"

Chris looked over at Leo as if he had forgotten he was in the room. He said, "Of course not. He might have gone after one of you. But it didn't matter anyway. That was only about a month before he left home. I don't know if he just couldn't stand to pretend with you guys anymore, or if it was because he thought he was powerful enough."

Leo stood up and walked over to Chris. Chris had been pacing and was already up. Leo grabbed an unsuspecting Chris into a hug. Leo held him tight and said, "I'm so sorry that I didn't believe you back then Chris. I can see why you hate me, and I promise you it's not going to happen this time around."

Chris wasn't exactly sure what to do. He gave Leo an awkward pat on the back, and then let go, hoping Leo would do the same. On the one hand Chris enjoyed hearing the words, but on the other hand, he wasn't sure that he bought them. When Leo didn't let him go, he felt even more uncomfortable. He said, "It wasn't all bad. Wyatt actually helped me learn to control my magic. He could talk for hours about potions and help me learn how to make them. Of course his ulterior motive was that he hoped to make me evil someday too, but we had a strange kind of fun doing that. And we killed demons together, although he got much more enjoyment from it then I did, it was still a twisted kind of bonding experience."

Leo hugged Chris tighter and said, "I'm glad you have at least some less horrible memories."

Chris said, "Um…..maybe we should go eat?"

Leo let him go and patted his shoulder as he said, "Sounds good."

At lunch Leo didn't eat much. He just kept looking at Chris and Wyatt. Chris ate, but was quietly thinking about his plans. When Piper was cleaning up Wyatt, Chris said, "Have you thought any more about moving to magic school Mom?"

Piper said, "I've decided not to."

Chris sat back and said, "It would be so much better if you did."

"Better for who? You? Not better for me, and not better for Wyatt. This is my home, and I'm not going to be driven out."

Leo said, "Maybe it would be a good idea Piper."

"Don't you start too. I'm not going, and you two can just deal." Piper turned to Wyatt and in a happy higher tone said, "Isn't that right sweetie."

Wyatt said with sincerity, "Mama."

Piper smiled, "Yes, Mama is always right."

Chris rolled his eyes, and Leo smiled.

Piper turned back to Leo and said, "Did you guys decide who to go after?"

Leo said, "Not yet, but we've made some progress."

Chris nodded and said, "We should go back up."

The rest of the afternoon Chris and Leo had an easier time working together. They looked in the book together and talked about different demons that might have it in for Wyatt. They talked about who Chris had already gone after, and decided who to go after next. They spent most of the afternoon and evening in the underworld gathering information on a demon who specifically preyed on children, only to find out he had been killed by another demon a few months ago. They got home late in the evening both tired. They warmed up some leftovers for a late dinner. Phoebe came in and said, "There you guys are."

Leo said, "Were you looking for us?"

"Wyatt was just asking for you. He's asleep now."

"I'll go check on him before I go to bed."

Chris was done and said, "Well I'm beat. I'm gonna hit the sack."

Leo and Phoebe both told him good night as he went upstairs. When he was gone Phoebe said, "Looks like things are going better between the two of you."

Leo gave a half smile and said, "It's a start."

Phoebe put a hand on his arm and said, "It will just keep getting better now that you're both working on it. I'm sure of it."

"Thanks Phoebe."

"You bet. So are you…….staying here tonight?"

Leo nodded and said, "Yeah, is Piper here?"

"Nope she's at the club."

Leo frowned. Phoebe saw it and said, "With Paige."

Leo nodded. He said, "I guess I'll make up the couch then."

Phoebe nodded and said, "I'll get some sheets."

Upstairs, Chris set his alarm for 3AM. He knew his mom usually got home around 1:30AM when she had a band at the club, so that gave everyone plenty of time to fall asleep before he got up. He kept his clothes on and went right to sleep.

Chris didn't sleep very well, and was actually ready to get up at three, even though he had only been asleep for four hours. He stood up and quickly sensed that Leo was asleep. Chris smiled to himself and orbed to the underworld. One of the benefits to having Wyatt for a brother was that he knew his way around the underworld. And even though it was a different generation in this time and different people were in power, he still knew enough of the long time demons to get around. He knew he only had a couple of hours to work if he was going to be back in his bed before someone woke up. He stopped the first demon he saw and asked where he could find a demon named Shorb.

Chris was almost surprised at how easy it was to find and get to Shorb. But then he realized that twenty years, and his brother's influence would have done a lot to change the demon. Shorb was Wyatt's right hand man for lots of reasons, but the biggest reason was because he knew how to resurrect vanquished demons. And that was a big reason why Wyatt had won the war between good and evil in Chris' time line. Chris was planning to vanquish Shorb before he left this timeline, but now he thought he would use him first.

Chris found Shorb in a demon bar, drinking and playing poker. Chris thought he looked exactly the same. He was short and thin with short gray hair and dark brown eyes. Chris looked carefully and though maybe he had fewer wrinkles now, but that was about it. Chris waited for him to finish his hand and then said, "Hey Shorb."

Shorb looked up; "Do I know you?"

"No, but I know you, and I have a job if you're interested."

Shorb excused himself and Chris led him to a smaller booth near the back of the room. Chris said, "I need a demon resurrected tonight."

Shorb laughed. "That's a good one kid."

"I'm not joking. She's a Vorish demon named Samantha. She was vanquished twenty eight years ago."

Shorb laughed even louder and slapped his thigh as he said; "Now that is the best joke I've heard all night. That was so good, I'll buy you a drink."

Shorb put his hand up to wave at the waitress, but Chris used his powers to force both of Shorb's hands flat onto the table. Chris said, "Listen old man, I don't have a lot of time, and I need this job done tonight. I know for a fact that you can do it, so cut the crap and tell me how much it's gonna cost."

Shorb tried to move his hands and couldn't. He glared at Chris, and then took a good look at him. He said, "What does a witch want with an old vanquished vorish demon?"

Chris shook his head. "That's my business. Now how much?"

Shorb thought about it. "Five hundred."

Chris nodded and said, "Deal. I'll give you Six hundred if you can do it in the next hour."

Shorb nodded and said, "Okay. I like a challenge. Show me the money."

Chris looked disgusted. He said, "Get started while I get it. Where do you want to perform the ritual?"

Shorb said, "I would give you the address, but my hands are currently unavailable."

Chris let Shorb move his hands again and even handed him a napkin and pen. Shorb wrote down an address and said, "It's an abandoned warehouse. I'll get my stuff together and meet you there, but I won't start the ritual until I see the money."

Chris nodded and orbed away. As soon as Chris was gone, Shorb orbed in a cloud of dark specks. Chris orbed to the side of a small credit union that was downtown. He pulled the hood of his sweatshirt up over his head, and pulled the strings as tight as they would go, so that there was only a little circle left for his eyes. He pulled his sleeves down so that his hands were covered too. He orbed into the credit union's vault and fumbled to grabbed two of the bound stacks of twenty-dollar bills that said $500.00 on the band with his hands still in his sleeves. He orbed out of the bank with the money and orbed to the front of the warehouse.

Chris pulled his hood off his head and pushed his hands out of his sleeves. He tore the two bands off the money and put them in the small garbage can that was beside a turned over table. Chris said a few words, and the bands caught fire, and burned down to nothing. He put the table up right, and put one stack of twenties on the table, and put the other stack in his pocket. Then he waited. Ten minutes later Shorb orbed in.

Shorb looked surprised to see Chris already there. Chris looked at his watch and said, "Tick tock."

Shorb nodded and went to count and inspect the cash. He nodded and put it in his pocket. Shorb said, "How did you hear about me kid?"

"Shut up and work. Time is running out."

Shorb shook his head. "Not until you tell me."

Chris knew Shorb well enough in the future to come up with a convincing lie. "I've worked with Barbus before, and he told me about you."

"Barbus the fear demon?"

Chris was annoyed, "Yeah, is that a problem for you? Do you want to get paid, or should I just take my money back?"

Shorb shook his head. "I'll do it."

Chris paced and watched while Shorb did his ritual. Forty minutes later Samantha appeared in the middle of a pentagram that Shorb had put on the floor. Samantha looked around her, and touched her arm not quite believing she was really there. Chris looked at his watch, pulled out his money, and gave Shorb one hundred more. As he handed him the money he said, "Now get out."

Shorb gathered up his stuff and left. Samantha looked at Chris and said, "Where am I?"

Chris said, "What's the last thing you remember?"

Samantha thought about it for a second and said, "That bitch Patty took her baby away from me and threw that potion at me."

Chris nodded and said, "You've been gone for the past twenty eight years."

Samantha looked shocked and slowly walked over to the table to sit down. She said, "I was vanquished?"

"Yes. Now how would you like some revenge?"

Samantha took a few minutes to think about it, and then gave Chris an evil smile as she said, "I'd love it. Where is she?"

"Dead, but her daughter is six months pregnant."

Samantha looked disappointed, but gave a slight nod. "I guess that would still be fun. And if it's been that long, I'll need a baby soon."

Samantha looked over at Chris and said, "You got me here, so I assume you have a plan."

Chris nodded and said, "I do. Come with me."

Chris held out his hand and she took it. He orbed them to a hotel that was close to the manor. He led her with him to the front desk. He said, "A room for one for the night please."

Chris made Samantha write down some false information, and he paid cash for the room. They took the keys and headed to the room. Once inside, he counted his money, kept fifty, and handed her the rest. He said, "Tomorrow morning go buy yourself an outfit, and whatever else you need to make yourself look normal."

She counted the money and said, "If you want me to look good it will take more then this."

Chris shook his head. "No I don't want you to look good, I want you to look like an innocent."

She gave him a questioning look, and he told her his plan. When he was done with her, he made one more trip to the underworld to make some more arrangements with the fifty he had left, and finally at 4:45am he was able to orb back to his room. He sighed and smiled to himself as he thought of his plan falling into place. He took off his hooded sweatshirt and as he was about to lay back down on the bed, he heard someone clear his throat.

Chris spun around and even though it was dark in the room, he could see the outline of Leo standing just inside his closed door with his arms crossed. Chris had been startled, and now that he saw who it was he was more then a little nervous. Before thinking much about it he said, "Jesus Leo, you scared the crap out of me."

Leo whispered so he wouldn't wake anyone up as he said, "Where were you?"

Chris thought quick, and kept his voice quiet as he said, "Sorry Leo, I know you told me to stay here, but I couldn't sleep, and I just needed some space. I went up to the bridge to think."

Leo took a couple of steps into the room so he could see Chris' face in the dark and said, "That was the wrong answer."

Chris felt his stomach twist at being caught, and shook his head no once as if trying to convince Leo he wasn't lying. Leo held up his hand and took away Chris' orbing abilities. Chris could feel it leaving him, and felt vulnerable without it. Chris sounded slightly desperate, "No, Leo please don't do this."

Leo shook his head. "You promised me you wouldn't run off, which you did, and then you just lied to me about where you were. I'll give it back in a week."

Chris glared at him and hissed; "If you knew where I was, then why the hell did you ask me about it?"

"I wanted to give you the chance to explain why you were in the underworld at 4:40am when your family thought you were safe in bed."

"So you're spying on me again?"

Leo shook his head no. "No, I actually believed you when you promised me you would stay put. So imagine my surprise when I woke up a few minutes ago and couldn't sense you in the house. I couldn't believe it and came up here to see for myself. When I saw you really were gone, I tried to sense where you were, and I was about to go see what you were up to in the underworld when you orbed home." Leo took another step towards Chris and said, "So what _were_ you doing Chris?"

Chris crossed his arms too and said with bravery that he didn't feel, "None of your God Damn business."

Silence stretched out between them. Leo eventually said, "I thought we had made progress this afternoon. I though that you were going to start trusting me, and confiding in me. How can I make a new future for all of us if you won't give me a chance to prove that things will be different?"

Chris felt bad. He had felt closer to Leo that afternoon then he had in years, and he also had felt the beginning of a trust between them. Leo showing up in his room, and taking his orbing away had caught him off guard, and now regretted what he had said, and wished he had thought up another lie instead. Before he could say anything Leo said, "You went after another demon on your own didn't you?"

Chris thought that sounded convincing and nodded his head. Leo sighed and uncrossed his arms. He put one hand on Chris' shoulder as he said with sincerity, "I understand that it's hard for you to trust us after the childhood you had. But to make things better, and to accomplish what you came here to do, you are going to have to make more of an effort to work with us instead of alone. Maybe after a week of being forced to stay put, you will be more accepting of our help and our trust."

Leo pulled Chris into a quick hug. Chris sounded slightly desperate even to himself when he said, "Please put it back Leo. I understand now how important it is to you, and I promise I won't orb anywhere without letting you know about it first."

Leo let him go, and shook his head. "No."

Chris got mad and turned his back on Leo. He said, "Fine. I'm tired, and I'd like to go to sleep."

Leo had been prepared for Chris to be unhappy and just nodded and said, "Good night again."

Once he heard the door shut Chris sat on the edge of his bed and thought about his plans. He thought it would still work, and he was glad he had been able to get everything done before he had been caught. He lay down and thought about what Leo had done. 'I can't believe he actually took it away again! What the hell gives him the right? I'm an adult, but even as a child, he wouldn't have the right. He lost that right when I was pawned off to Grandpa.'

Chris sighed knew his thoughts weren't true. 'But like Mom said, he hasn't done that yet. He's not that man yet. This is the Dad from when I was little. The Dad who was always smiling. The Dad who was always patient and tried to understand even when he thought I was lying about Wyatt. The Dad who took us to the park, and to magic school to play. But that's what makes it so bad later when he doesn't care.'

Chris put his hands on the sides of his head and pushed in, trying to make his thoughts stop. 'Things would be so much easier if he'd never found out he was my father. If he had just stayed away. I wonder why he stayed here this time. Trying to make up for the future that hasn't happened? I wonder if things had been different, if he would have taken my orbing away for doing something wrong when I was a kid. But what's the use of thinking how things might have been? I have to concentrate on Wyatt and the mission. My issues are not important, and I can't let them interfere with what I came to do. For all of us, not just for me.'

Eventually Chris was able to talk himself into believing this and fell asleep. He was able to get another couple of hours of sleep before the activity in the house woke him up.

Chris went into the kitchen and got himself some coffee as he mumbled good morning to everyone. Piper was scrambling some eggs at the stove, and everyone else, besides Phoebe who had left for work already, was sitting at the table. Chris hoped that Leo hadn't said anything to anyone, because he was still tired and not in the mood to talk about what he had done. Chris stood by the counter and sipped his coffee and watched his mom cooking. She turned to him and said, "You look tired. How did you sleep last night?"

Chris figured Leo must not have said anything to her, so he picked up his coffee and casually said, "Just fine."

He walked towards the table, and as he set his coffee down he heard a familiar popping sound and felt a surge of pain in his rear end. He jumped a little and hissed in pain. He turned around to look at Piper. Piper had put her left hand down after giving him a magical swat, and was now pointing at him with her spatula. She said, "You better stop lying to us mister."

Chris was angry and embarrassed. He was angry that Leo had taken his orbing away, angry that his activities were being monitored, angry that he had been caught in yet anther lie, and embarrassed that Piper had just magically smacked him in front of everyone. He said the first thing that came to his mind, "Then you better stop asking me questions you already know the answers to!"

Piper looked at him with disbelief, which quickly turned to indignant anger. She turned off the stove and put the spatula down. Chris, not quite believing he had actually said that out loud, quickly put his butt in the chair next to him. As Chris was sitting down, Leo stood up and walked over towards Piper. He cut her off half way to Chris and said, "How are those eggs coming? I'm starved."

Piper glared at Leo and said, "You don't even need to eat, so stop trying to distract me."

Leo took her hand in his and said, "His intentions are good Piper, even if he doesn't go about things the right way yet. Give him some time."

Piper looked around Leo and glared at Chris who was looking at his coffee. She nodded and walked back over to her eggs. Leo sat back down and the room fell silent.

After a few seconds of silence, Wyatt squealed and banged his hands on the highchair tray expecting more food now that his handful of Cheerios was gone. Paige gave him the crust of her toast, which he happily gnawed on. Chris darted his eyes up at Leo. Leo had been waiting. He said, "Did you really think I wouldn't tell her?"

Chris said nothing and thought, 'How the hell should I know? She's not around when I'm old enough to understand your relationship, and I changed the relationship you had with her when I sent you to Valhalla.'

A few minutes later Piper brought over a bowl of eggs for everyone. She put some on a plate and put them in front of Wyatt, and then did the same for Chris. Chris noticed that she didn't serve anyone else, just him and Wyatt. As Piper set the eggs in front of Chris she said, "Care to explain why you spent half the night in the underworld young man?"

Chris bristled at her actions, her words, and her tone. He said, "No."

Piper said, "Then I guess Leo was right to make sure you couldn't orb for the next week. Maybe longer if this attitude keeps up."

Chris stood up and pushed his chair away from the table as he yelled, "I'm not a child, and I came back here to this time to do a job. You and Leo are making it impossible for me to get that job done! I need to be free to come and go, and I need to be able to orb. You two are so focused on me now that you're missing the big picture."

Chris pointed to Wyatt and said, "Very soon he is going to be turned, and we have to keep it from happening. I wish you would stop worrying about me and concentrate on him."

Chris turned and walked away. Once he was two steps away Piper raised her hands and flicked first the right hand in the direction of Chris' bottom and then flicked the left hand immediately after. This time Chris couldn't keep in his "Ow!" He covered his butt with both his hands as he turned around to face Piper. He said, "Stop it!"

Piper said, "Come sit down, eat, and talk to us."

Chris desperately wanted to orb away. His butt really hurt now, he was still tired, and arguing with Piper made him feel slightly ill. He slowly walked back over to the table aware that everyone was watching him. He was able to sit in the chair without an obvious wince, even though it took effort. As soon as Chris was sitting, Wyatt clapped his hands and laughed as if it was all a show put on for his amusement. Chris glared over at him, but Wyatt was looking at Piper and missed it. Piper said, "Thank you, now eat something."

Chris was hungry, and put a bit of food in his mouth. The next few minutes were filled with the sounds of everyone eating. The phone rang and Paige went to answer it. A few minutes later she hung up and said, "That was the temp agency. I've got a job doing filing today. Sounds boring. Do you think this outfit is okay for that?"

Piper said, "You look fine. Have a good time, and call us if you need anything."

Paige nodded and got her stuff gathered up to go. By the time she was gone Chris was done eating. He shifted around in his chair and waited for Leo to get done. Piper noticed he was done eating and said, "What are you going to do today Chris?"

"Same as yesterday. Book of Shadows, and demon hunting."

"Like you did last night?"

"Like I do every day, and every night, and every chance I get, because if Wyatt turns evil, this whole family is screwed."

Piper said, "What if you already got the demon who turns Wyatt? What if you've already accomplished the job you came here to do, and now you're just running yourself into the ground for nothing?"

Chris shrugged and said, "I hope to God that I already have, but what if I haven't? I have to keep trying to find out what happens, and trying to kill off as many demons as I can before my time is up. And if I run myself into the ground….. Oh well."

Piper and Leo gave each other a look. Leo said, "Okay Chris, I'm done. You ready to take a look at the book and decide who to go after?"

Chris nodded and was happy to stand up.

Chris tried not to be obvious about looking at his watch, and two hours later finally decided on a demon named Max to go after. Leo said, "Why him? He isn't even an upper level demon."

Chris said, "Because I know him in the future, and he may be a lower level demon now, but he's power hungry, and he's very close to Wyatt as soon as Wyatt goes to the underworld at sixteen."

Leo accepted that answer and orbed them to the underworld. Leo stood back and let Chris take the lead in looking for the demon. Leo thought Chris was pretty good at getting information out of demons. He seemed to know what to say or do to get them to talk, and seemed to know some of them even though they didn't know him. Very soon they had a lead and were headed towards a cave in the underworld which Max apparently called home. Before they got there, they heard a woman screaming.

Chris and Leo both turned towards the sound, and as the screaming continued they both started running towards it. They both arrived on the scene at the same time. A male demon with greenish skin and no hair was pointing a staff towards a woman's head. There was a red light going from the staff into the woman. The woman was on the ground writhing in pain. Leo yelled, "Hey!"

The demon was startled and the light went off. The woman stopped screaming and lie still breathing hard. The demon glared at Leo and said, "Now I'll have to start over. This is my human, get yourself another."

Chris said, "I don't think so."

Chris waved one of his hands towards the demon, and he went flying a few feet back. He landed with a thud on the ground, and Chris waved his hand again and sent the staff flying the other direction. Leo went to the woman and said, "Are you okay?"

She started to get up with Leo's help and said, "I… I think so."

The demon started to get up, and looked ready to fight. Chris went and put a hand on Leo as he said, "I think we should get out of here Leo."

Leo looked over at the approaching demon and orbed all three of them to the manor. The woman looked around and gasped. She said, "How did you do that? Are you one of them? Are you going to hurt me too?"

Leo talked in a soothing voice; "You're safe here. We aren't demons, and we're going to protect you to make sure you won't get hurt again."

The woman looked at him and apparently believed him. She gave a slight nod. Leo said, "Are you hurt anywhere?"

She shook her head no and said, "It really hurt when he was pointing that light at me, but once the light was gone I was fine."

"Good. Okay, how about you sit down on the couch here."

The woman sat and Leo turned to Chris and said, "Go get Piper, so she can help."

Chris nodded and went to find Piper. He found her putting Wyatt down for a nap. She saw him and took the monitor with her as she lay Wyatt down and left the room. In the hall she whispered, "What's up?"

"We have an innocent downstairs, and we need your help."

Piper nodded and they went downstairs together. After some introductions and explanations of witches and demons, Piper asked, "Okay Sam, tell me what you were doing right before the demon attacked."

Sam thought for a second and said, "I was taking a walk. It was such a nice day out, I decided to take a short walk. Then this monster…. demon I guess, jumped out from behind a tree and grabbed me. I was about to scream, but then we were in that huge cave, so maybe he knocked me out for a while. Or maybe he can get from place to place like you can."

Piper said, "Did he say anything to you? Did he tell you why he wanted you, or what he was going to do to you?"

Sam said, "He said he wanted to take my memories. I don't understand why he would want them. All I know for sure is that I'm glad it's over."

Chris said, "I wouldn't be too sure about that. I got a good look at him, and I think I remember him from the book. I'll be right back."

As Chris left the room Piper said, "Anything else you can remember?"

Sam shook her head and said, "I'm sorry, it was all just so sudden. Do you really think it's not over? Will that demon be back for me?"

Piper said, "Maybe, but we'll do everything we can to protect you."

A few seconds later Chris came back downstairs holding the book open to the correct page. There was a picture of the demon that had been attacking Sam, and he was holding his staff. Chris read it "Janbox Demons – These demons are able to erase a person's memories through the use of a spell and a cane or staff. Once the person's memories are erased, they can possess the person's body and often try to take over their lives so that they can live out in the open. At the bottom of the page there's a vanquishing potion for them, and a spell to get back memories."

Sam looked really scared and said, "So he might be coming back for me. He might know about my life already and he wants to have it for himself."

Piper asked, "Are you married? Is there anyone who might be worried about where you are right now?"

Sam shook her head. "I live alone."

Piper said, "Then you're probably a good target, and he might be back."

Piper turned towards Leo and said, "I'll keep Sam here with me and Wyatt in case the demon tries to come after her, and while Wyatt's napping I'll make the vanquishing potion. You two go find out where the demon is so that when the vanquish is ready I'll know where to find him."

Leo nodded and put a hand on Chris' shoulder to orb them both back to the last place they saw the demon.

Phoebe was just about to go to lunch when she got a call from Darryl. As always she was happy to hear from her friend. "Hey Darryl, what's up?"

Darryl sounded serious and upset, "We've got a problem Phoebe. Could you come down to the station? There's something that you should see."

"Sure, I'll be right there."

"Okay. When you get here pretend you came over to have lunch with me, but keep your eyes on the TV screen next to Bob's desk."

"Got it."

Fifteen minutes later Phoebe arrived at the police station. She had been there plenty of times, and most of the cops knew her as a casual acquaintance of Darryl's. No one thought much of it when she came in to take Darryl to lunch. As she walked in the room Darryl said, "Hey Phoebe, could you wait for just a few seconds before we go to lunch?"

She nodded and sat down at his desk to wait. Darryl was talking to Bob and said, "I don't know what you're gonna tell that guy at the credit union. You could tell him his video tape is faulty."

Bob said, "There's nothing wrong with the tape!"

Darryl said, "There obviously is. People don't just appear and disappear."

"Well this guy did!"

Darryl shook his head and said, "Let's see it again really quick before I go. Then take it to the lab and I'm sure you'll find out it's been tampered with somehow."

Bob grumbled and rewound the tape in the VCR for a couple of seconds and then pushed play. As the three of them watched a hooded figure appeared, took some money, and disappeared. Bob said, "There! That wasn't faked! I've seen faked tapes, and that was real, and the money is missing."

Phoebe felt kind of queasy as she watched and recognized the sweatshirt that Chris usually wore.

Darryl smiled and said, "Sure Bob. You call the credit union manager and tell him some guy just appeared in the vault, and took some money. Tell him we have no leads, and that we have no way to help him. Or take the tape to the lab."

Bob nodded and popped the tape out and headed to the lab. Darryl and Phoebe exchanged a look. Phoebe said, "How about the deli across the street for lunch?"

"Sounds good."

As soon as they were outside Darryl said, "The only people I know who orb are Leo, Paige, and Chris. The guy on the tape wasn't a girl, and was thinner then Leo."

Phoebe nodded and said, "He wares that sweatshirt all the time."

"What the hell was he doing Phoebe? I didn't see any demons in the vault, and I don't see how stealing a thousand dollars is working for the greater good."

"I don't know what was going on, but believe me I'm going to find out. I'm sure Chris thought he had good reason…."

Darryl sighed and said, "Phoebe, I'm a cop. I can't just overlook a crime like this. No reason is good enough."

Phoebe nodded. She said, "I agree, and I promise you that it won't happen again. We will make sure Chris understands that it can't happen again, and if it does, we'll make him turn himself in."

Darryl said nothing and thought about it. Phoebe pleaded, "Come on Darryl, you know Piper and Leo well enough to know that they are honest people, and they aren't going to let their son run around stealing money."

Darryl did know all of them pretty well, and he knew they were good. He slowly nodded and said, "What about the tape?"

Phoebe said, "After lunch get me as close to the tape as possible, and I'll do a spell to erase it. I shouldn't need to touch it, I'll just need to be a few feet from it, and I can say the spell under my breath, so it's okay if some people are around."

Darryl nodded again and said, "Okay Phoebe, but this is a one time deal. If I see Chris doing anything illegal again, we'll be doing things my way."

Phoebe sighed with relief and started thinking about how to word a spell to erase the tape.

Back at the manor Piper had started to make the potion. Sam was standing watching, and when Piper was half done Sam said, "Would you mind if I made some tea? My nerves are shot, and I really could use something soothing."

"Go right ahead."

"Would you like some too?"

"Sure, I like the mint tea in the top cupboard."

Sam nodded and put the water on to boil. She got out the two cups and put a mint tea bag in each. In one of the cups, she added some powder from her pocket. By the time the kettle boiled, Piper was done with her potion. Sam poured the tea and handed Piper a cup. They both sat down and took a few sips and talked a little bit about Piper's pregnancy. Once her tea was about half gone Piper felt a little drowsy. She took another sip and said, "I'm gonna get Leo over here to see if he's found anything out yet."

Piper said, "Leo!"

A few seconds later Leo and Chris orbed in. Piper said, "Did you find him?"

Leo said, "Yeah, he doesn't seem too concerned. He's sitting in a bar drinking."

Piper yawned and said; "He must not know who he's dealing with."

Piper got up to get the vanquishing potion and felt a little lightheaded. She said, "Oh." And sat back down.

Leo and Chris both rushed to her side. Leo said, "Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

Piper took a deep breath and waved them both off as she said, "I'm fine. It's just the pregnancy."

Piper started to stand up again and Chris said, "But if you're tired, you should stay home. Leo can get Paige or Phoebe, and they can vanquish the demon while we stay here and let you relax. I can protect Sam if you want to lay down."

Piper was feeling tired and reluctantly nodded. She said, "The potion is on the counter."

Leo nodded and said, "Okay. I'll be back when it's done."

Leo decided since Paige was at a new temp job, and since the jobs usually turned into someone needing her help in a magical way, that he would go ask Phoebe first. He orbed close to the building she worked at, and walked in. He found out she was out to lunch, and turned to leave when Phoebe walked in. Phoebe said, "Leo?"

Leo said, "Hi Phoebe. Do you think you could take another fifteen minutes or so for lunch?"

Phoebe nodded and said, "Actually I need to talk to you too, so this works out well."

Phoebe let her secretary know she would be gone another half an hour, and left with Leo. As soon as they were outside Leo handed her the vanquishing potion and said, "We have a demon to vanquish, and an innocent to save."

Phoebe nodded and said, "I had lunch with Darryl today, and saw a really interesting video."

"A video?"

"I guess the local credit union was robbed last night, but no one broke in. Someone just appeared in the middle of the vault, and took a thousand dollars, and then disappeared again. Someone wearing a familiar gray hooded sweatshirt."

Leo shook his head not believing it. He said, "Chris? Why would Chris steal money?"

"I think that's a question you should ask your son."

"You saw him do it? You know it was him?"

"I saw the tape. I couldn't see his face because he had his hood pulled up over his head, but I'm sure it was him."

"But….. Why?"

Phoebe shook her head not knowing the answer. Leo said, "What about the tape? Did you get it? Are they going to be able to figure out it's him?"

"I did a spell and erased it."

Leo was immediately relieved, but at the same time knew it wasn't exactly the right thing to do. He said, "Thank you Phoebe."

"Well I had to stop people from finding out about magic. We don't want the Cleaners to come back, and we can't have people knowing Chris can orb. But really I mostly did it for him. I've become attached to him, even if he is a thief."

Leo didn't find it amusing and just stood there thinking. Phoebe said, "But Darryl knows, and he said the next time he sees Chris doing something illegal, he won't let it slide."

Leo nodded in understanding, but still couldn't figure out why Chris would be stealing. Phoebe said, "Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't we have a demon to vanquish?"

"Oh, sorry."

Leo put his hand out, and she took it. They orbed to the underworld.

Piper went to lie down on the couch and was slightly wobbly as she walked. She put a hand to her head and said, "I guess I'm more tired then I thought. I can't keep staying at the club until one and getting up with Wyatt at six. It's just not working."

Chris felt a stab of guilt at that. He knew how hard his mom worked at both the club and at home, and then this pregnancy was wearing her out. He helped her put her feet up and said, "Do you want me to get you anything? Are you comfortable?"

Piper nodded and said, "I'm fine. I just need some sleep."

Chris nodded and very soon her breathing became even. Chris looked over at Sam and saw that she was smiling unpleasantly. He started to have some serious second thoughts about his plan. 'Crap, what if something goes wrong? But what if I don't do this and Mom ends up dead because of it? I have to make them do things the way I think they should be done, because I'm the only one who understands what the future is really like.'

Samantha started to chant and spread some gray dust over Piper's stomach. Chris stammered, "Maybe this wasn't the best idea after all."

Sam chanted louder. Chris thought, 'Oh well, just let her do the spell, and then I can talk Piper into moving to magic school, help them find Samantha's entry in the book, and hopefully have little me back inside the correct womb by the end of the day.'

Sam's stomach started to swell, and Piper's stomach started to diminish in size. Chris felt odd, and looked down at his hand. It was transparent. He looked back over at the scene in front of him and said, "Oh Sh……"

Soon the ritual was done and Sam felt the baby move inside her. He had a strong soul, and she knew that once she had consumed it, the soul would keep her young and beautiful for a long time to come. She turned back to talk to Chris and found he was gone. She mumbled, "He could have at least said goodbye."

She orbed in a cloud of black specs to the underworld and tried to decide where she was going to hide.


	4. Chapter 4

Vanquishing the demon took less then ten minutes, and Leo orbed Phoebe back to work. Leo orbed home wondering how he was going to bring up the subject of the tape to Chris, and wondering if he should talk to Chris alone first, or discuss it in front of Piper. Leo saw Piper lying on the couch, and immediately noticed her stomach was thin. He ran to her side and put a hand on her shoulder as he said, "Piper?"

Piper stirred in her sleep. He shook her slightly to wake her up, but it didn't work. He yelled, "Chris! Sam!"

When no one answered, Leo tried to sense Chris, and was shocked to find that he couldn't sense him anywhere. Leo tried to sense Wyatt and knew he was still asleep in his crib upstairs. Leo tried to heal Piper, but there was nothing to heal. He yelled, "Paige!"

A few seconds later Paige orbed in. Leo said, "Something is very wrong. I need you and Phoebe home now. Chris is gone, and baby Chris is gone, and Piper is unconscious."

Paige shook her head no not believing, and with a look of horror on her face orbed to Phoebe. Once she was gone, Leo put his hand on the side of Piper's face and said quietly, "You have to wake up Piper. We need you to wake up and tell us what happened."

Leo reached down and felt her stomach, which was completely flat. He whispered with desperation, "Chris, where are you?"

Paige and Phoebe orbed in, and as Phoebe saw Piper she put her hand to her mouth and whispered, "No."

Phoebe walked over and kneeled down next to Piper and Leo. She said, "What happened?"

"I found her like this. I can't sense Chris anywhere."

Phoebe said, "Wyatt?"

"Upstairs asleep."

Paige said, "I'll look at the book and see if I can find anything."

Phoebe said, "I'll try to scry for adult Chris."

Leo felt helpless. Phoebe put a hand on his arm and said, "We'll get him back Leo."

Leo nodded. As she stood up, Phoebe said, "Try to sense baby Chris."

Leo hadn't thought about that. He wasn't sure if he could, but he closed his eyes and tried.

Five minutes later Paige and Phoebe were both up in the attic. Paige was frantically flipping pages in the book, while Phoebe was scrying for Chris with a piece of his hair she had found on the brush in his room. The attic was devoid of conversation. Suddenly the Book of Shadows flipped some pages by itself, and left itself open to the page that had Samantha's entry. Paige said, "Did you see that?"

Phoebe turned and said, "What?"

"The book opened itself to a page."

Phoebe looked up and said, "Thanks Grams."

Phoebe ran over to the book and took a look at the entry. Phoebe nodded and said, "This has to be it. I'll go tell Leo, you start on both potions."

Paige nodded and Phoebe ran downstairs. Leo was still trying to sense the baby, and as she touched his arm Leo looked over at her with tears in his eyes and said, "It's very faint, but I think I can sense the baby. I think he's still okay."

Phoebe said, "We think we've found the demon that did this."

As she was talking Piper stirred and put a hand to her head. Piper said, "Wow, my nap didn't help at all. I feel worse now."

Piper started to put her hand down and froze. She jerked up to a sitting position and looked down at her stomach. She felt her stomach and looked over at Leo and Phoebe with panic. She said, "The baby?!"

Leo held her hand and said, "I can sense him just barley. He is alive, and well. We think we know who took him, and we're getting him back."

Piper started to cry and said, "He's only six months old. That's too premature. Some baby's don't survive….."

Phoebe shook her head and said, "No sweetie. He's inside a demon right now. He hasn't been born."

Piper looked around and said, "Where's Chris?"

Before anyone could answer Piper jumped up and said with panic, "Wyatt!"

Leo kept a hold of her hand and said, "Wyatt's asleep in his crib, and he's fine."

Piper turned to Leo, "Chris?"

"I can't sense him anywhere."

Piper broke down and couldn't do much besides sob. Leo pulled her into a tight hug and said, "We'll get him back Piper, I promise we will."

A few minutes later Piper was able to get out between crying, "But….. if Chris is gone…… That means…… we don't save the baby!"

Leo shook his head. He let go of Piper and held her at arms length and gave her a little shake. He said, "No Piper. I don't believe that, and you can't either. You have to be strong and work with us to get the baby back. Chris will be back with us as soon as we get the baby back inside you."

Phoebe who had been standing there not sure how to help said, "That's right! Remember when you two got stuck in that other dimension, and you….you know….conceived Chris, he had disappeared for a while, but then reappeared once you two were safe."

Piper wiped at her face and tried to make herself believe them. She nodded once and said, "Okay, let's get them back."

Leo kissed her forehead and held her hand as they all went upstairs to look at the book and make the potions.

Fifteen minutes later Piper had written down the spell, and was holding a vial of the potion she needed to take once they had Samantha. Phoebe, Paige, and Piper all had a vial of the vanquishing potion. Phoebe started to gather up the crystals and put one on the attic floor. Piper said, "No, let's do the spell in the living room. Just in case the reverse needs to be done in the same place."

They all headed downstairs and Paige said, "I don't get how it can be her, when she was vanquished by our Mom so long ago."

Piper said, "We're gonna find out."

As they were walking by Wyatt's room Piper looked in and saw he was still asleep. Soon they were downstairs, and Phoebe had set up the four crystals in a square to hold Samantha once she was summoned. Leo stood back, and the three sisters held hands, and did a summoning spell to get Samantha in the crystal cage. Samantha appeared and looked startled. She tried to orb, but couldn't . She tried to run, but couldn't. She turned to look at Piper and said, "How did you get me back here?"

Phoebe said, "Yeah, you haven't been around for a while have you? Ever heard of the Charmed ones? The power of three?"

Samantha gave her a blank look.

Piper didn't say anything and drank the potion and said the spell to get her baby back. Piper looked down and her stomach started to swell. Samantha looked at her stomach as well and screamed, "NO! He's mine! I need him!"

Piper just kept looking at her stomach. She was pleased that it didn't hurt as it swelled. The millisecond that the spell was completed, adult Chris reappeared in the room and said, "…..it"

Everyone turned to look at him. He took a step back, being surprised by everyone in the room with him. Piper went to him and pulled him down into a crushing hug. She whispered, "You're safe now. You're both safe now."

Chris hugged her back and realized what must have happened. He said, "How long was I gone?"

Piper let him go and said, "Less then half an hour."

Chris got a good look at her and saw she was crying. Piper turned back to Samantha and walked up to the cage. While she was doing that, Leo walked over to Chris and pulled him into another hug.

Piper yelled at Samantha, "How did you get to this time!?"

But Samantha wasn't looking at Piper, she was looking at Chris. She said, "You were the baby? But that doesn't make sense. You had to know what was going to happen. Why would you want me to take you?"

Leo let go of Chris and looked over at Samantha not quite believing what he had heard. Chris panicked. He used his telekinesis to move one of the crystals and then used it again to take Phoebe's vanquish vial out of her hand and fling it towards Samantha. It only made it half way there. The vial hung in mid air and Chris turned his eyes to his mother who had frozen it in place. Piper still had her hands up and used them to also freeze Samantha for the time being.

Piper turned to Chris and stared at him. Chris' eyes darted around the room and noticed that everyone was looking at him, and they all looked furious. He backed up a couple of steps and said, "I can explain."

Piper yelled, "You did this?!"

Chris swallowed and said, "Well…… Um……"

Piper knew by his reaction that he had. She yelled, "How dare you try to hurt my baby!!!"

Leo could tell that Piper was seeing red, and stepped in between Piper and Chris. He was facing Piper when as he said, "He IS your baby Piper. He tried to hurt himself."

Piper glared at Leo. Leo said, "Let's put the crystal back, and get the whole story from Samantha and Chris before you start blowing people up."

Piper got some control over her anger and nodded as she plucked the vanquishing potion from mid air. Leo put the crystal back into formation to make the cage, and Piper turned to Chris and said, "Talk."

Chris paused gathering his thoughts and Piper said, "And remember we'll be asking Sam to tell her version when you're done, because I don't trust you right now."

Chris could feel his stomach twisting at that. He looked down at the floor and decided to be honest, because Samantha knew most of it. "I know a demon from the future who can resurrect vanquished demons. I had him resurrect Samantha. I told her my plans, and then I set Leo and myself up to 'accidentally' run into Sam at noon. I made sure she was here alone with you so she could give you the potion. Then when I got here, she did the spell to get baby me inside her. I didn't plan on disappearing, that was a surprise."

The room was quiet for a second and then Piper said, "Why? Why would you do that Chris?"

Chris looked up at her imploringly, "To make you move to magic school where you and Wyatt will be safe."

Piper shook her head not believing it at first. "So let me see if I've got this right. You had Samantha brought back from the dead. You set us all up to believe that she was an innocent. And then you just stood there while she cast a spell on me and took my baby! All because you wanted to make me move!!"

Piper had started off in a normal tone, but by the end she was yelling. Chris cringed at her volume. He said, "You need to move Mom. I need you and Wyatt out of the way and safe, so that I can keep looking for the demon that turns Wyatt evil. I tried to talk you into moving, but you wouldn't agree."

Piper had heard enough. She turned back to Samantha and unfroze her. She said, "I would really appreciate it if you would tell me how you know my son."

Samantha said, "How can he be here and…." She pointed to Piper's stomach "….there?"

Piper raised her hands and flicked them at Samantha's shoulder. Samantha was thrown back and knocked against the force field that the crystals put up. Samantha got up holding her shoulder. She took her hand off her shoulder and saw some blood. Piper said, "How do you know my son?!"

Samantha took a shaky breath and said, "I appeared in a warehouse yesterday in the middle of the night. I saw Chris there, and another demon. Chris paid the demon, and then he left. Chris orbed me to a hotel, and paid for me to spend the night and get myself some clothes. He told me he was going to help me get revenge on Patty for vanquishing me. He said I could have her daughter's baby since Patty is dead. He told me to pretend to be an innocent, and he told me where and when to meet him. He said he was going to get a Janbox demon to help us out with the charade. But I still don't know why he would want me to take him."

Piper nodded. She was close enough to the force field to kick one of the crystals out of the way. Before Samantha realized what was happening, Piper had tossed her vanquishing potion at her. As Samantha burst into flames and screamed, Piper yelled, "He's my baby, and you can't have him!"

A second later Samantha had disappeared. Piper turned to Chris. She pointed at him and said, "You turn around."

Chris looked confused for less then a second. Then he looked at her with surprise and took a step back. He gave his head a barely noticeable shake no. Piper glared at him. He darted his eyes to Phoebe who looked a little confused, and to Paige who looked embarrassed. Piper yelled, "Turn around!"

Chris looked back at her with panic and said, "I……"

Then Leo was in between them again with his back towards Chris. Piper said, "Move Leo."

Leo shook his head no. "You're very angry Piper, and you've just been through a trauma."

Piper raised her hands and flicked them both at him. Leo exploded into a spray of blue lights, and then reformed in front of her. Piper yelled, "Trauma?! You mean the trauma where my baby was ripped from my womb while my son just stood there?! That trauma?!"

Leo held his hands up and said, "You are in no shape to deal with Chris right now. You need to calm yourself down. All of this stress can't be good for the baby. I'll deal with Chris."

Chris thought this sounded like a very good idea, and anxiously waited to hear what Piper would say. Piper raised her hands up again, but then heard Wyatt making noise on the baby monitor. She put her hands down and gave Leo a glare. "Fine. You deal with him for now."

She leaned to the side so she could see Chris behind Leo and continued, "But we WILL be talking later young man."

Piper turned and walked away towards Wyatt's room to get him up from his nap.

Everyone was quiet until she was out of the room. Chris felt relief wash over him, and he took a deep breath now that the immediate danger to his butt was gone. Leo looked over at Paige and Phoebe and said, "Thanks for being here for us, and helping us."

Phoebe said, "You know we'll always be here for you and Piper, and our nephews."

Paige nodded in agreement. Leo smiled and said, "Thank you. I'm gonna need to talk to Chris alone for a few minutes now."

Phoebe nodded. "I need to get back to work."

Paige took her hand and said, "Me too. See you tonight."

Paige orbed them away. When they got to Phoebe's office, Phoebe asked Paige, "Why do you think Piper wanted Chris to turn around?"

Paige explained what had happened that morning at breakfast. Phoebe looked shocked, but then nodded in understanding.

Leo watched the sisters leave, and then took a deep breath before turning to face his son. Chris didn't look up but said, "Thanks for helping out with Mom."

Leo put a hand on Chris' shoulder and said, "Look at me Chris."

Chris looked up. Leo said, "I want you to tell me where you got the money."

Leo watched Chris' eyes open a little wider at that. Chris said, "I….. I brought it with me from the future."

Leo shook his head. "Wrong answer again Chris."

Chris wasn't sure if Leo knew the truth or not, but it seemed like he did. Chris cursed in his head. Leo said, "You've told me that I didn't believe you when you were younger, and that that is a big part of why you hate me. But how can I believe you, and how can we start building a trusting relationship, when you continue to lie to me?"

Chris wasn't sure what to say. He mumbled, "I'm sorry."

Leo put an arm around Chris' shoulders and started walking them towards the couch. Leo said, "I'm sorry too. I'm sorry that you don't trust me. I'm sorry that the childhood you had was so much worse then the childhood I had planned for you. I'm sorry that you think you have to lie and steal to get things done. But mostly I'm sorry that I have to punish you now."

Before Chris had time to react to what Leo had said, Leo sat on the couch, and pulled Chris over his lap. Chris' first thought was that Leo was going to spank him, but quickly disregarded that idea, because he just couldn't believe his father would do that. He tried to stay calm and said, "What's going on Leo?"

Leo wrapped his left arm around Chris' waist, and pulled Chris up tight against his torso. Leo said, "I'm going to spank you for lying, stealing, manipulating your family, and putting yourself and your mother in danger."

Chris was speechless. He shook his head no, still not believing it, and not believing that Leo had sounded so calm and matter of fact about it. The first smack surprised Chris and made him jump. The second smack made him jump again, and he kept shaking his head no with disbelief.

Leo had never considered himself the kind of parent who would spank his kids, and if someone had asked him if he would ever spank one of his kids once they were grown up, Leo would have laughed at the notion. But then if someone had told him his son would do the things that Chris had done, he wouldn't have believed them. He still found it hard to believe that Chris had stole the money, and just stood there watching while a demon had taken Piper's baby. He thought that he needed to do something drastic to show Chris that what he had done wasn't acceptable, and he also knew this was similar to what Piper had had in mind and would agree with what he was doing.

By the tenth swat Chris finally accepted that this really was happening to him. But he still couldn't put together in his head the fact that the person swatting him was his father. He yelled, "Leo, this isn't you! You don't spank me or Wyatt! Even when you thought I was lying about Wyatt you didn't spank me!"

Leo kept spanking and said, "It wasn't me before but it is me now. You've changed me Chris. Valhalla was only the first step towards changing me. I may hate this, and I may regret that it's necessary, but I _will_ do it, because I think it's what is best for you, and I'm sure Piper agrees."

Chris remembered his confrontation with Leo in Valhalla. He had actually been afraid Leo would hurt him for a few seconds before it was over. Chris was quickly brought back to the present, as the spanking was continuing, and starting to really hurt him. He wasn't sure how many swats he had gotten, but it seemed like a lot. He started squirming and said, "Leo! This is all wrong! You're a pacifist!"

Leo had been keeping track, and knew he had given Chris twenty swats over his jeans. Leo's hand kind of hurt already, and judging by Chris' reaction he didn't think they were anywhere near done. He stopped spanking and let Chris stand up.

Chris took a few steps back from Leo and took a deep breath. He was glad he had talked some sense into Leo. Leo stood up also and covered the distance between them with one large step. He grabbed the waistband of Chris' jeans with both hands, and quickly undid the button and zipper before Chris realized what was happening. Chris belatedly put his hands on Leo's arms, to make him stop, but it was already too late. Chris said again, "But you're a pacifist!"

Leo looked in Chris' confused eyes and said, "Yes that is a part of me. But there is another part of me that will do anything and everything I think is necessary to protect my family. This may be against my nature, but so is sitting by and doing nothing while you hurt yourself and others."

Leo let go of Chris' pants and was about to grab his arm again when Chris used his telekinesis to fling Leo back onto the couch. It was Leo's turn to be in shock. He just stared at Chris for a few seconds while Chris zipped up and buttoned his pants. Leo sat up and said with a calm he didn't feel, "Okay Chris, if you won't accept this punishment, then I'll get your mother and sisters to bind your powers, and we'll try it again when they're done."

Chris shook his head no vehemently, knowing that his mother probably would agree to strip his powers for a few hours, especially in the mood she was in. Leo said, "Then come over here and take your pants down. We aren't done yet."

Chris stood there thinking for a few seconds. He certainly didn't want to go over to Leo, but he didn't see many other options. He couldn't orb, and if he didn't let Leo do it, his mother and aunts would bind his powers. And he knew that without his powers, Leo was stronger then he was. He decided to try a different approach. "Please don't Leo. I understand that you're mad, and that what I did….."

Leo raised his voice for the first time during their confrontation and said, "Come here, Right Now!"

Chris knew that he was out of options, and that he would just have to accept whatever Leo was planning on. As he slowly walked over to Leo, he tried to console himself with the thought; 'Maybe he'll heal me when he's done.'

Once Chris was next to Leo, Leo reached up and undid the pants again. He let his irritation show by yanking the pants and boxers down to Chris' knees and then yanking Chris back over his lap. Chris landed with an, "Oof."

Leo started spanking again harder and faster then before. Chris immediately noticed the difference and yelled, "Oww! Shit! Oww!"

Very soon Chris was kicking his legs and yelling or grunting with each swat. Leo paused long enough to say, "You will stop lying to us Chris."

Leo brought his hand down again and Chris yelled, "Okay!! Aahh! I got it!"

Leo gave Chris another ten swats before pausing again. Chris was close to tears and hoped Leo was done. Leo said, "Darryl called Phoebe today, and showed her a video of you stealing money from a bank."

Chris groaned at that news. He was in such a hurry, he hadn't checked for video cameras. Leo said, "Phoebe got close enough to the tape to erase it, so you'll be happy to know you won't be going to jail for bank robbery."

Chris was a little irritated with Leo's sarcasm. Chris said, "Like I couldn't just orb out of prison."

Leo couldn't believe his ears. "You seem to think you're above the law."

Chris struggled for a second against Leo's arm that was holding him down. Leo didn't let him up. Chris said, "I am here to save the world. Not just us Leo, the world. If I don't succeed, the whole world will not only know about magic, but they will be afraid of it. Wyatt is the law in my future. I don't even exist in this time yet, so yeah, I think I am above the law. I'll do whatever I need to do, to keep Wyatt from turning."

Leo said, "But you didn't take that money because Wyatt was in imminent danger of being turned. You took it so you could pay off some demons to hurt your mother."

Chris didn't like the way Leo phrased that. "I wouldn't let anyone really hurt Mom."

Leo gave Chris ten more swats and then said, "_You_ hurt her today, more then you can even imagine Chris."

Chris shook his head and said, "I didn't want to. I… I had to."

"No you didn't, and now you've damaged the bond that was forming between the two of you. Piper will forgive you, but it won't be easy for her. You're going to have to work pretty hard at earning back her trust."

Chris started to cry when he heard those words. Leo continued, "And now we'll have to try and come up with a thousand dollars to pay the bank back, and you know with your mother and Phoebe being the only ones brining in a regular paycheck, that it won't be easy to come up with it."

Chris was surprised out of his crying. He wiped at the couple of tears that had slid down his face and said, "What?! What do you mean pay back the bank? That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! The bank makes plenty of money! They can afford to loose a thousand without even blinking."

"But we can't afford to let you get away with it."

Leo started spanking again while Chris furiously struggled and yelled, "Don't be stupid Leo! Oww! You can't make… Mffff! Mom pay for the…. Ahh! Money I took!"

Leo kept spanking and said, "We will pay it back, and your mother will agree with me."

Chris was a mess of emotions and pain. He started crying again. Leo could tell he was crying, but still gave him a couple more swats. Leo knew Chris had to be pretty sore by now, and saw that his butt was a deep red. Leo said, "Okay Chris, we're almost done. I just want to go over things one more time, so it's clear in your head why I'm doing this. Because you better believe me when I say I'll do this again if you don't learn what I'm trying to teach you this time. You don't lie to us."

Smack! "Do you hear me Chris?"

Chris nodded and said through his tears, "Yes!"

"You don't steal." Smack! Smack!

"Okaaayyyyy!"

"You are going to stop manipulating us, because it makes us not trust you, and it isn't even an efficient way to get things done. But that shouldn't be a problem anymore since you won't be lying. Isn't that right?" Smack! Smack! Smack!

"Owww! Please stop!"

"Tell me you're going to stop manipulating us."

"I promise….. I won't do it again!"

"Okay this is the last one Chris, and I'm very serious about it."

Chris wanted the whole thing to be over and said, "Noooo!"

"You won't deliberately put yourself or any of your family in danger again."

Leo gave him ten more hard swats during which Chris yelled, "I'm sorry! Dad! I'm sorry! Please!"

Leo was a little surprised to finally hear Chris call him 'Dad', but was sad that the first time was obviously a slip up on Chris' part because he was so distraught. Leo stopped spanking and rubbed Chris' back for a few seconds while Chris cried. Leo reached down and pulled the boxers and pants back up. Chris gave a little whimper as they went over his butt. Once the pants were in place, Leo orbed them both to Chris' room. Leo was sitting on Chris' bed with Chris still over his lap. He helped Chris to stand for a second and then pulled him down to sit in his lap.

Piper had left the living room furious. She had stormed up the stairs and went to pick up Wyatt. As always, seeing him calmed her down a little. He smiled to see her coming to get him, and she smiled back at him. She got him out of the crib and asked him if he had a good nap while she was changing his diaper. Once he was dressed again and in her arms she decided she didn't want to go downstairs and face anyone just yet. She picked up one of Wyatt's books and sat in the rocking chair with him so they could look at it together. She flipped the pages and absently told Wyatt the names of the things he pointed at, while her mind was busy thinking about Chris.

She thought, 'How could he do it? He just let that demon take him from me. Does he have a death wish? Is he this reckless all the time? How dare he try to force me into moving with this elaborate scheme! It's like our emotions mean nothing to him as long as he gets his way! I can't let this go. I'll have to do something to make sure he understands he can't keep doing it.'

Piper was distracted by the sounds of a scuffle and yelling downstairs. She put Wyatt in his playpen knowing his bubble would protect him if demons were attacking. She rushed out to blow up whoever was attacking. She got halfway down the stairs and as she turned to look into the living room she froze. There across the room was her husband spanking their son. Leo had his back to her, and she couldn't see much of Chris except his back and butt. Leo stopped and said, "You will stop lying to us Chris." And then he started up again.

Piper stood staring at the scene not understanding how they had gotten to that point. She knew Leo had seen her swat him with her magic a couple of times, but she wouldn't have expected this. Then she heard Leo talking about Darryl and the fact that Chris had apparently stole some money to put together his scheme. Piper shook her head, appalled at Chris' attitude towards what he had done. A few minutes later Piper nodded and agreed with what Leo was saying and doing. She felt baby Chris inside her move, and she put a hand on her stomach. She looked over at adult Chris obviously suffering, and didn't want to watch anymore. She thought Leo was doing the right thing, but she didn't think she could do it, and was glad she didn't have to.

She turned and walked back to Wyatt's room and shut the door behind her. Wyatt looked anxious and was reaching up his hands to her to be picked up. She picked him up and he rested his head on her shoulder for comfort. She hugged him close and said, "It's okay sweetie."

She turned on some music that Wyatt liked to drown out the noise, and played with him upstairs for the next half an hour.

Leo was surprised and pleased that Chris didn't try to get off his lap while he was crying. Chris was too distraught to do much besides cling to Leo. Once Chris could think about something besides pain and things his father had said to him while he was getting spanked, he started thinking about Wyatt. He remembered all the times Wyatt had hurt him, and how he had felt after. He had always wanted to get as far away from Wyatt as possible. Even the times that Wyatt had healed him after hurting him, Chris had still always felt the need to run, and be away from his brother. So it was hard for Chris to understand why he didn't even want to let go of Leo right now.

Leo could tell that the crying was slowing down and he said softly, "I love you Chris."

Chris held Leo tighter and finally understood the difference in his reaction to getting hurt by Wyatt and getting hurt by Leo. Leo hugged Chris tighter too and said, "I love you, your mother loves you, your aunts love you, and Wyatt loves you. It's not right to lie to the people who love you. It's not right to manipulate the people who love you. We wouldn't do it to you, and we expect you not to do it to us. Do you understand?"

Chris nodded on Leo's chest. Leo said, "Good. Now I know it's going to be hard for you to trust us, and I know you are going to want to do things your way without consulting us, but I want you to try. And if you keep today in mind for the next few weeks it should help, because I was very serious when I told you I will spank you again if I think you need it."

Chris felt more tears rolling down his face, but nodded in understanding. Leo said, "Tonight I'll talk to Piper, and your aunts and we'll figure out how to get together the money that you owe to the bank. Then tonight, I'll orb you in, and you can do a spell to mess up the security cameras and put the money back."

Chris shook his head thinking this was a very bad idea. Leo said, "Do you need to go back over my lap right now?"

Chris shook his head more violently. Leo said, "Then you will put the money back. And tomorrow morning you and I will go visit with Darryl for a while, and see what he has to say about what you did."

Chris said, "But I…."

Leo swatted him before he got any further. Chris cried out and put one of his hands back to cover his butt. Leo said, "Now is not a good time to argue with me."

Chris kept quiet and tried to stop crying. Leo was done talking and just held Chris for a while.

Ten minutes later they heard a knock on the door. Chris scrambled off Leo's lap, and wiped at his face. Leo stood up and went to answer the door. Piper was standing there holding Wyatt. She looked at Leo for a few seconds, and he was sure that she knew what had happened, and that she wasn't angry anymore. She said, "Can I come in?"

Leo said, "Sure. I'll hold Wyatt."

Piper handed him over and said, "He needs a snack."

Leo nodded and took Wyatt out while Piper walked in. Chris wouldn't look at Piper. He was pretty sure she had heard what had happened, and was embarrassed both about the spanking, and about what he had done. Piper walked over to Chris and looked up into his face. She said, "Chris?"

He looked away from his feet and looked down at her concerned face. She saw his tear streaked face and said, "Oh Chris honey, are you okay?"

He shook his head no. She reached up and pulled him down into a hug. He let her, and was soon crying again and holding onto her. He kept mumbling, "I'm sorry Mom. I'm so sorry."

She put a hand up on the back of his head and held him to her as she said, "I know honey, I know."

A few minutes later she said quietly, "Shh. It's gonna be okay. I know you didn't mean to hurt yourself or me. I forgive you, and still I love you."

Chris didn't cry as long this time. Five minutes later Piper let him go and said, "Why don't you lie down for a little while and rest. I'm going to go talk to Leo."

Chris nodded and let her go. As soon as she shut the door Chris walked to the nightstand and got out some tissues to blow his nose. Then he lay on the bed face down exhausted.

Downstairs Leo was feeding Wyatt some mixed fruit when Piper walked in. Piper went and sat next to him and wrapped her arms around his middle. She said, "How are you?"

Leo set the mixed fruit down for Wyatt to feed himself and turned to Piper. He put his arms around her too and said, "I've been better. How about you?"

"Not so great."

"I need to talk to you about money."

"I know."

"Chris told you?"

"No. I thought there was a demon attacking, and I went down to see you spanking him. I heard that he took some money."

Leo let her go and looked into her eyes. He said, "He took a thousand dollars. Can we get that much together by the end of the day?"

Piper nodded and said, "Actually the club has been doing pretty well since you've been away. I have about three times that in savings right now. It's no problem."

Leo was surprised. He smiled at her and said, "Well that's really good to hear. Can you get that in cash in the next few hours? I want everything to be fresh in his mind when he puts it back."

She nodded. "I can't believe he thought it was okay to take the money in the first place."

Leo sighed. "To hear him tell it, the future he comes from doesn't have much in the way of laws besides whatever Wyatt decrees. So I can kind of understand it. But he still needs to know we don't approve, and won't let him do it."

Piper nodded again. Leo said, "I'm gonna call Darryl and set up a time to meet with him tomorrow so he can talk to Chris personally about what he did."

Piper opened her eyes wider and said, "I wouldn't have thought of that, but it's a really good idea."

After a few seconds of silence Leo said with uncertainty, "Are you angry that I spanked him?"

Piper pulled him down into a kiss and when she let him go she said, "No. I know it had to be hard for you, and I'm proud of you for doing it."

Leo was relieved to hear this, and was more then pleased about the kiss. She hadn't kissed him like that since the night Chris was conceived. And before that it had been over a year. He pulled her in for another kiss, and she let him. When they were done Piper looked over at Wyatt. Wyatt had eaten all of his fruit, had dumped the juice from the plate onto his highchair tray, and was currently taking turns rubbing it all over the tray and into his hair. Piper said exasperated, "Oh Wyatt, we don't rub juice in our hair."

Wyatt looked at her with confusion. She got up to get a wet washcloth. Leo smiled at Wyatt and said, "Oops."

Wyatt smiled and laughed. Piper said, "Don't encourage him!"

The rest of the day Chris was pretty miserable. He had fallen asleep right after Piper had left the room for a short one-hour nap. But when he woke up he hurt all over, with extra throbbing in his head and his behind. He groaned and looked over at his clock. It was three o'clock in the afternoon. Chris lay there and tried to will his head to stop pounding. He couldn't believe that just two days ago he had been punching Leo in the face for not knowing him, and for never being there for him. It seemed like a lot had happened in a short amount of time, and now he truly believed that Leo did know him much better then he had when Chris was a teenager.

He spent most of the late afternoon playing with Wyatt while Leo looked on, and Piper went to run a few errands.

Around five thirty both Paige and Phoebe arrived home within minutes of each other. Phoebe was first. She came in and saw Chris kneeling on the floor rolling little cars around with Wyatt standing beside him watching. She looked over at Leo who was sitting in a chair watching. Phoebe said, "Well this isn't what I expected."

Everyone turned to see her, and Wyatt toddled over to her so she could pick him up for a hug. She picked him up and glared at Chris. She said, "How could you do that to your mother?"

Chris didn't know what to say. Leo said, "Phoebe."

Phoebe glared over at him. He said, "It's over. Chris has been punished, and he's sorry about what he did. We're not going to keep bringing it up."

Phoebe was completely taken aback by what Leo had said. She eventually looked at Chris and said, "Punished?"

Chris turned bright red and refused to make eye contact. Phoebe wasn't sure what had happened, but Chris was obviously effected by it, so she nodded and said, "Okay."

She said, "I'm going to go get out of my work clothes."

She put Wyatt down and turned to leave. But before she made it to the stairs Paige arrived home too and called out, "Hello everyone!"

Phoebe detoured and went to link arms with Paige as she said, "Come up and help me change."

Paige gave her a look and said, "What?"

"Just come on."

Paige let Phoebe take her upstairs, where Phoebe told Paige what had happened. They both speculated on what had happened while they were gone.

Piper was home in time to make dinner. It was obvious to everyone that Chris couldn't stop squirming and ate as quick as he could. Paige and Phoebe exchanged a look. As soon as Chris was done Leo took pity on him and pushed his half-eaten food away as he said, "Why don't you come look at the book of shadows with me, and we'll see who we can go after tomorrow afternoon?"

Chris practically jumped out of his chair and followed Leo to the attic. Once they were gone, Piper told Paige and Phoebe what had happened without going into too much detail. When dinner was done Piper went to the club to work, Paige did the dishes, and Phoebe watched Wyatt.

Later that night when most people were going to sleep Leo and Chris orbed to the credit union and Leo orbed Chris in to put the money back. Chris did two spells, one to erase the videotapes, and one to erase fingerprints off the money after he had put it in the middle of the vault floor. Leo nodded and orbed them home to Chris' room. Chris hadn't tried to talk Leo out of it again, but he was upset about it. When it was done Chris said, "We shouldn't have wasted Mom's money like that Leo."

Leo gave Chris a hug and said, "You shouldn't have stole it in the first place."

Leo let Chris go and said, "Get some sleep. We meet with Darryl down at the precinct tomorrow at ten."

Chris nodded and as Leo was leaving Chris said, "Hey Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you could…. I mean it would be nice if you would…. I'm sure I could sleep better if you would… Heal me?"

Leo shook his head no and said, "Take some Advil."

Chris looked disappointed but didn't argue. Leo said, "Good night." As he shut the door.

Chris did take some Advil and slept pretty well.

The next day Chris had a horrible time sitting in the interrogation room with Darryl and Leo for about an hour, while Darryl yelled at him and told him all the reasons why what he had done was wrong. By the time Darryl ran out of steam, Chris felt like crying again and was more then ready to go. Leo shook hands with Darryl and thanked him for his time. Leo also told Darryl they had replaced the money, and Darryl felt better about the whole issue.

That night when Leo and Chris got home from demon hunting they found Piper packing. Chris said, "What's going on?"

Piper said, "I've decided that since it's so important to you, Wyatt and I will move to magic school for the next three months until you're born."

"Really?"

Piper stopped packing, and went to give Chris a hug. She said, "Yes. I know how important it is to you, and I'm tired all the time now. I talked to the manager at the club last night, and he will be taking over for me while I'm gone. And when he has owner type questions he will call Paige. I think I could use a break. Not to mention a lot more sleep, and there are plenty of people there to help me watch Wyatt."

Chris said quietly, "Thank you."

Piper nodded. "You both remember to visit us at least once or twice a day though, or we will feel unloved and move home whether you like it or not."

Chris took her seriously and said, "We will I swear."

Leo snickered and said, "Twice a day Piper?"

Piper rolled her eyes and said, "Okay once every other day, when you aren't in the middle of a demon hunt."

They all helped Piper finish packing, and went with her and Wyatt to check out the room they would be staying in at magic school.

Over the next four days Leo and Chris fell into a routine. In the morning they would eat breakfast with Phoebe and Paige and discuss current duties or jobs the Charmed ones were doing. Then they would look through the Book of Shadows, pick out a demon, and spend the afternoons in the Underworld hunting it. Then in the evenings they would go to magic school and have dinner with Piper and Wyatt.

The day after Leo had spanked him, Chris had been cautious around him. Leo could tell that Chris was spending a lot of his time that day thinking about his behavior and how it would be received by his family. Near the end of that day Chris had been tired, not to mention still sore, and had made a snippy comment to Leo about not being able to orb. Leo had seen a look of worry flash across Chris' face as he took a step away from Leo right after saying it. Leo had wanted to reassure Chris that he wasn't going to whack him at the drop of a hat, and had just calmly told him he wasn't going to get his orbing back until the week was up. He could tell Chris was relieved with his answer, and started to relax and get back to his usual self.

Chris hated not having the ability to orb, and he couldn't wait to get it back. He understood why Leo had taken it away, but he felt incomplete without it, and still found himself trying to orb before realizing he had to ask Leo to orb him. The only other time he had been without his orbing was when he was fourteen and Wyatt had taken it away for a month. He thought it sucked just as much, if not more, this time. After realizing Leo wasn't going to spank him for his less then pleasant opinions, he ended up asking Leo to put it back every day, sometimes several times a day, only to get the same patient answer of, 'You're still grounded, but you can have it back when the week is up.'

Piper and Wyatt were living in one of the dormitories reserved for the teachers at the school. They had a living room, bedroom, and private bathroom. Piper usually ordered food from the kitchen and had it brought up to her room when Chris and Leo came over. Today they were a little late.

Piper looked at her watch again and sighed. She looked at Wyatt and said, "Daddy and Chris are late."

Wyatt said, "Dada."

Piper said, "Yes Daddy is coming to eat with us. I'm hungry. Let's call for our food, and Daddy and Chris can go down and get their food later."

Piper picked up the phone just as Leo and Chris orbed in. She smiled and handed Wyatt to Leo as she ordered food for all four of them. She put the phone down and said, "You two are later then usual."

Chris gave her a look of irritation and said, "It's Leo's fault."

Piper looked at Leo who looked calm as usual. He said, "Chris got slimed today when we killed a Blogar demon, and he had to take a long shower and wash about four times with tomato juice to get the smell off."

Piper tried not to laugh at Chris since he was obviously upset about it. She asked, "So how is that Leo's fault Chris?"

Chris huffed and said, "Because if I could have orbed, the slime wouldn't have hit me."

Piper said, "But you're still grounded for two more days."

Chris had already heard that from Leo more then once over the past hour and was irritated. He tossed his hands in the air and said, "I'm twenty-two!" as if this were all the explanation anyone should need to understand why he shouldn't be grounded.

Piper could tell he was unhappy and having a bad day. She changed the subject. "Why were you hunting a Blogar demon?"

Chris could tell neither of his parents were impressed with his argument of being too old to be grounded, so he sighed and said, "We weren't exactly after him, he just kind of got in the way."

Chris and Leo told Piper about their day, and soon the food came. During dinner Piper told them what she and Wyatt had done for the day. When the food was gone, Piper said, "I should probably go give Wyatt a bath and get him ready for bed."

Leo started to stand but then Chris stood and said, "Hey Mom, why don't you and Leo talk for a while. I could give Wyatt a bath."

Piper turned to him with a surprised expression, not quite believing he had offered to help like that. Then she glared a little and said, "What kind of ulterior motive do you have?"

Chris feigned surprise and said, "None!"

"Chris." Piper said in a warning tone.

Chris' eyes darted nervously between Leo and Piper for a second, and then he looked down as he muttered, "Okay, you got me. I just thought maybe you two could use some time to talk alone. Maybe… you know…. Work some things out….. talk about the future. _Your_ future."

Piper and Leo exchanged a look. They both understood Chris wanting to still have an intact family when he went back home, and thought it was sweet of him to be playing match maker. Leo said, "Okay Chris, that's nice of you. Thanks."

Chris gave him a shy smile and turned to Wyatt. He said, "What do you say Wyatt? Want me to give you a bath?"

Wyatt held his arms up to be picked up and said, "Iis"

Chris looked at Piper and said, "Did he just try to say my name?"

Piper nodded and beamed. "He did it twice earlier today when I was talking to him about you."

Chris just stared at Wyatt for a few seconds not believing how such a little thing could bring out so many emotions in him. He cleared his throat and got up. He picked up Wyatt and took him into the bathroom asking if he wanted to play with the rubber duck or the frog in the tub.

Piper and Leo looked at each other for a few seconds. Then Piper said, "How's it been going?"

"All things considered I think it's going very well. I'm amazed at how much he knows about the underworld. I guess not all that much has changed in twenty three years. We've killed off at least two demons every day."

"That's good."

"I guess…."

"What do you mean you guess?"

Leo sighed, "It's just that it never seems to be enough for him. I think Chris would keep going and pushing his way through demon after demon until every last one of them in the underworld was dead. We kill one, and he wants to kill three more. I just…. I just wish he could be happier."

Piper put her hand over Leo's. Then she had a thought and said, "Oh, I'll be right back. I need to tell Chris that I used up the last of the baby shampoo yesterday, and the new bottle is in the cupboard."

Piper got up and walked over to the bathroom and opened the door. The site that greeted her did not make her happy. She said, "What do you think you're doing young man?"

The bathtub was filling up with water, Wyatt was standing next to it with his clothes still on, and Chris was kneeling on the floor in front of Wyatt holding a small wand with a blue light at the end against Wyatt's forehead. Chris immediately put the wand down and the blue light faded. He stuck it in his pants pocket, and said, "I… I was just…."

Leo was now at the doorway looking at him too. Piper held out her hand and said, "Give it to me."

Leo looked confused and Chris didn't move. Piper said, "Give me whatever that wand thing was that you were using Christopher."

Chris grimaced at the name and pulled the wand out of his pocket. He stood up and handed it to her. He said, "It's no big deal Mom. It's just a little trinket I picked up today. I thought Wyatt would think it was pretty. I was just about to put him in the bath."

Leo said, "Can I see it."

Piper handed it to him. He looked at Chris and said, "You were out of my site for about half an hour in the underworld today, and you got this?"

Chris looked away and didn't answer. Piper picked up Wyatt who was trying to climb into the tub with his clothes still on and asked Leo, "What is it?"

"It's a Jamko wand. It's used to test a person's morals, and it's very rare. How did you get it Chris?"

Chris mumbled something that neither parent could understand. Piper said, "Turn the water off, you've got way too much water in there anyway."

Chris turned the water off, and Piper started to undress Wyatt who was straining to get down and into the tub. Piper darted a glare at Chris said, "How did you get it?"

Chris looked back and forth between his parents and worried that this whole story wasn't going to go over very well. "Leo and I were going after another Scabber demon today. I had made a vanquishing potion, but he thought it was too dangerous for me to go in since I can't orb."

Chris turned to glare at Leo and said, "Which would be easy enough to fix if he would stop being so stubborn."

Leo's voice held annoyance as he said, "Chris."

Chris turned back to Piper who had Wyatt down to his diaper. She reached down and pulled the stopper out of the bathtub to let some of the water drain out. Chris said, "So Leo wanted to leave me at home while he went to do it, but I told him I should at least be in the underworld so that I could help him if he needed it. I do still have my telekinesis which could help if there was a fight. He finally agreed, and took me down with him. We went to one of the gathering areas for demons, and he told me to stay in that area while he went to find the Scabber demon. While he was gone, I saw a Jamko demon. I didn't believe it at first, but they are pretty distinctive with their yellow skin. So I started a conversation with her."

Piper thought the water was low enough now, so she put the stopper back in, and tested the water temperature with her arm. She turned to Wyatt, took his diaper off, and said, "Okay sweetie."

Wyatt orbed into the tub, and splashed a few times, happy to be there playing with his rubber frog. Leo asked Chris, "Jamko demons don't just give up their wands. How did you get it?'

Chris looked at the floor and mumbled, "I took it."

Piper put her hands on her hips. "You stole it?"

Chris was incredulous at her accusation. He said, "From a _demon_."

Leo shook his head. "Now she'll be after you. They're tricky, and most of them hate witches and like to kill them."

Chris' voice got slightly louder, and he said, "Well if you had given me back my orbing, the second I saw her there I could have went home, made a vanquishing potion, and gone back. Then I could have talked with her, gotten the wand, and vanquished her ass before she had the chance to even notice that I had taken it!"

Piper couldn't believe that Chris was being so belligerent after Leo had spanked him just five days ago. She said, "I'm fine with you taking something we need from a demon Chris, but why didn't you tell Leo about it so that you two could vanquish the demon before she had a chance to come after you?"

Before Chris could come up with an answer Leo said, "Because he wanted to try out the wand on Wyatt before we had the chance to tell him he couldn't."

Chris turned a little pink at his father's correct assumption. Piper glared and said, "So you didn't tell Leo you had it. You used it on Wyatt without telling me first. You manipulated your father and me into thinking you were being sweet and letting us have some time alone, when really you were trying to get time alone with Wyatt to do something we might not approve of. And then to top it off you lied to me about what it was the first time I asked."

Chris started to feel nervous when the words manipulated and lied came out. Piper then asked, "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Chris shook his head and said, "It's not like that. It's just something I wanted to try. Something that might help determine if Wyatt's been changed. Please don't make this into a big issue Mom."

Piper wasn't having it. She looked at Leo once, who looked just as unhappy as she did. She said, "Too late. It is a big issue, because you were recently punished for these exact same things, and now you're doing them again. Turn around."

Chris backed away from her a few steps, and shook his head no. His butt was fully recovered from the spanking Leo had given him, but he certainly didn't want more.

Piper's voice booked no room for argument, "I told you to turn around Chris."

Chris looked panicked and shook his head no again. He took another step back, and bumped into Leo.

Leo grabbed Chris' arm automatically to steady him. Leo almost let him go, but then at the last second got a tighter grip. Leo had vast amounts of patience, and he could tolerate a lot from Chris without getting angry. But he found he had almost zero patients for Chris not doing what his mother had asked him to do. Leo quickly put the wand in his pocket, and then used that hand to give Chris six hard swats. Chris jumped and yelped in surprise with the first couple of swats, and then tried to get his arm out of Leo's grasp for the rest. When Leo finished he said, "When your mother tells you to do something, you to do it."

Chris looked back at Leo with big eyes full of surprise and hurt feelings. Leo let him go without turning him around and said, "Do as your mother says."

Chris looked at Piper who still looked pretty angry. He closed his eyes, wishing he could disappear, and turned his back on Piper. The swats Leo had just given him had stung, and now he knew his mother planned to give him more.

Chris heard the familiar popping noise and then felt two magical swats in rapid succession landing on his butt. He grit his teeth and tried not to make any noise, but the pain was sudden and strong and a little grunt came out of him even though he tried not to let it. The magical swats hurt much more then the swats Leo had given him. Each swat seemed to hurt his entire butt instead of just one area, and they felt more like an electrical shock then a swat with a hand.

Piper said, "That was for manipulating us."

Chris said, "I'm sorry."

Piper asked, "Didn't you just get spanked for that very same thing less then a week ago?"

"Yes." Chris whispered as he turned bright red.

He heard the noise again, and two more swats came. He had trouble not putting his hands back to cover his butt. And as the pain hit him, he went up on the balls of his feet for a second and yelled out, "Ow! Mom, that really hurts! I said I was sorry."

Piper said, "That was for lying. Your father and I have been working very hard to be honest with you, and to earn your trust over the past few days, and we thought you had been working on it too."

Chris was close to crying at those words. He said, "I know… I do trust you guys....."

Piper cut him off with another swat. Chris couldn't take it, and covered his butt with both hands and said, "Ow! Damn!" and turned back around to face his mom.

Piper said, "Don't tell me that you trust us when you were just caught lying and manipulating us Chris. How does that show trust?"

Chris could see the hurt and disappointment in Piper's eyes, and he felt his own eyes start to fill. He said, "But I do tru…."

She glared at him, and he decided to revise his statement. He found it hard to explain. He trusted them to protect him and Wyatt. He trusted them to always do what they believed was right. He trusted them to protect innocents. He trusted them to use magic for good. But he didn't trust them to make decisions based on the bigger picture. He was taking into account what happened in the future, but they couldn't take that into account because they hadn't experienced it. When he took the wand he had thought about telling them, but he hadn't trusted them to let him use it on Wyatt. And he hadn't considered getting caught either. He stammered, "I really am trying to trust you. Both of you. But…. Sometimes if I think you're going to argue with me about something…. It's just easier to…. well… to do it without asking."

Piper shook her head and said, "You need to think about this the next time you decide it will be easier to do something without talking to us about it first."

Chris nodded. "I will."

"Good. Now turn back around, and keep your hands to your sides."

Chris said, "But….I….."

Piper shook her head. "You used that wand on Wyatt without asking me or Leo about it. You turn back around."

Chris felt the tears that he had been keeping at bay slide down his cheeks. He turned around and clenched his hands into fists to try and keep them at his sides. He kept his eyes closed so he wouldn't have to see Leo's expression when his mom swatted him.

Piper saw Chris' tears and felt a stab of guilt for what she was doing. She looked at Leo to see if she had his support. He gave her a small nod to show her he agreed that this was the right thing to do.

Chris heard the noise again, and this time as soon as the two swats fell he shifted from foot to foot, and cried out, "Ow! Mom, Please!" and he felt even more tears, but tried not to be obvious about the fact that he was crying.

Piper put her hands down and said, "That was for using the wand without asking me or Leo about it first."

The room was quite for a few seconds aside from Wyatt's splashing and Chris' shaky intakes of breath. Chris kept his hands to his sides with effort, and he kept his eyes on the ground not wanting to face either parent. He was frustrated that his parents refused to treat him as an equal, and the throbbing pain in his posterior didn't help him feel like an adult.

Piper looked at Leo and said, "Can you finish Wyatt's bath while I talk to Chris?"

Leo nodded. He put his hand on Chris' shoulder and squeezed it once. Then he knelt down on the floor next to the bathtub to play with Wyatt. Piper took a few steps over to Chris, took his hand in hers, and pulled him towards the living room with her. She sat down on the couch and pulled him down to sit down next to her.

Chris automatically tried to stand back up when his butt hit the couch, but Piper kept her hand in his, and he sat back down with a hiss of pain. Piper put an arm around his waist and pulled him towards her. She said in a soothing voice, "Chris honey, I love you, and I'm sorry."

Chris wiped at his face. He darted a look over at her and said, "You're sorry?"

Piper rubbed his back with one hand, and pushed some of the hair out of his face with the other. She nodded and said, "Yeah I am."

He sniffed and wiped at his nose with his sleeve. "Sorry for what? For swatting me?"

Piper leaned over the other way and got some tissues out of the box that was on the small table beside the couch. She handed them to Chris and said, "Don't use your sleeve."

He took the tissues and blew his nose. When he was done Piper pulled him into a hug. He was leaning down a little and resting his head on her shoulder and upper chest. She said, "It's hard to explain. I think you deserved it. I'll do it again if I think you need it. But I'm sorry about it too. I hate knowing that you're hurting."

Chris wrapped his arms around her and felt more tears coming. Being so close to her, smelling her, and having her hold him like this brought old memories to the surface, and opened up old wounds he had buried from her death.

Soon Chris was sobbing into his mother's chest. Piper held him close and rubbed his back while he cried. She didn't know exactly what had brought on the sudden rush of tears, but she knew enough about his past and her future to understand that he had more then one reason to cry.

Piper started rocking them slightly, and started humming to him the way she would hum to Wyatt when he was about to fall asleep.

Eventually Chris said between his tears, "I missed you so much."

Piper knew she would die sometime before Chris came back to save his family, she just wasn't sure when. She squeezed him tighter and said, "I'm sorry I was gone."

Both of them hoped that the new future would be different. Piper kissed the top of Chris' head. "You know my temper sometimes gets the best of me, especially now that I'm pregnant."

Chris nodded. Piper continued, "But it goes away as fast as it comes, and I'm not angry about what you did anymore. Don't get me wrong, if you do it again, I'll be even angrier, and I'm sure either your dad will spank you or I'll swat you. But for now you're forgiven."

Chris shuddered thinking about getting spanked by either parent again.

Piper had said all she wanted to, so she simply held Chris and waited until she felt him shifting around trying to get more comfortable. She let him go, and he sat up. She said, "Look at me."

He reluctantly did. "Did you learn your lesson this time?"

Chris turned pink, looked away, and nodded. She said, "Good. What was it?"

Chris muttered to his lap, "Don't lie, or manipulate you. And don't try out things on Wyatt without asking first."

Piper patted his knee and said, "That's right."

They both heard the bathroom door open, and Leo came out holding Wyatt in a towel. Piper awkwardly pushed her six month pregnant body up from the couch and went over to them. Leo handed Wyatt over and Piper said to Wyatt, "Let's go find you some pajamas."

Piper walked into the bedroom she was sharing with Wyatt to get him dressed for bed. Chris stood up, put his hands in his pockets, and found the coffee table interesting. Leo walked over to him and pulled him into a hug. Chris was surprised at first, but after a few seconds hugged him back.

Leo said, "You should have told me about the Jamko demon, and the wand."

"I know. I'm sorry."

Leo let him go and took the wand out of his pocket. He said, "When Piper comes back out we'll try it on Wyatt."

"Really?" Chris said with some disbelief.

"Sure. I would have let you use it if you had asked. They're harmless enough. It's just the demons that usually carry them that I have a problem with. As soon as we're done here, we're going to have to go make a vanquish for her and track her down."

Chris nodded, knowing that the Jamko demon would come after him if they didn't hunt her down first.

Piper came out with Wyatt, and Leo said, "We're gonna have to go hunt down that Jamko demon, but before we go, I thought we could try this on Wyatt."

Piper asked, "It's safe?"

Leo and Chris said, "Yes." in unison.

Piper put Wyatt on the couch, and Leo held the wand up to his forehead for a few minutes while the end glowed blue. Eventually the light turned yellow and Leo smiled. He turned to Chris and asked, "Feel better now?"

Chris gave a curt nod. Leo put the wand in his pocket and said, "Okay let's go."

Leo picked up Wyatt and gave him a kiss. He said, "Sleep good son. I'll see you tomorrow."

Piper pulled Chris down into a hug and said, "I love you honey. See you tomorrow."

Chris hugged her back and whispered, "I love you too."

After Piper let go Leo tried to hand Wyatt to her, but he held out his hands to Chris and said, "Iis, Iis."

Chris couldn't help smiling and picked Wyatt up long enough to give him a hug. He handed him back to Piper. Leo put a hand on Chris' shoulder and orbed them both back to the Manor.

They were up half the night hunting the Jamko demon, but they did find her, and didn't have any problems with vanquishing her.

A few days later Chris was overjoyed during breakfast when Leo said, "You're week is over."

Leo held up his hand and some blue lights went from Leo's hand into Chris' chest. The second he put his hand down, Chris orbed up to his bedroom and then back down to the kitchen table. He had a huge smile on his face and said to Leo and his aunts, "Just checking."


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Notes: Written August 2006

Home Again Chapter 3

Two weeks had passed since Leo had given Chris his orbing abilities back. Chris had been extremely careful not to lie to any of his family members over the past two weeks. He didn't consider keeping information to himself lying, but instead preferred to think of it as protecting them. Piper was living at magic school, and having a pretty good time there. Paige and Phoebe were taking care of things without Piper as much as possible, and Chris and Leo helped where they could. Chris and Leo continued hunting demons together as often as possible, and Chris found himself liking Leo more and more despite his past memories.

Leo, Chris, and Paige were all eating cold cereal for breakfast when a sleepy looking Phoebe stumbled in and poured herself a cup of coffee. The three at the table exchanged a look. Once Phoebe sat down and saw the table she said, "Cereal again?"

Paige sighed, "Feel free to cook yourself something else."

Chris snickered at that and mumbled, "As long as I don't have to eat it."

Phoebe glared over at him, but he just kept eating and ignored her. Paige looked to Phoebe and said, "What time did you get in last night? You look beat."

Phoebe squinted while thinking about it. "Two AM I think."

Paige smiled and said, "So it was a good date with Sean then?"

Phoebe shook her head and smiled, "Nope. I touched his shoulder when we ordered our drinks, and I had a premonition about him. He's not the one. So after dinner I went to P3 and checked the place out."

Chris said with distaste, "So you went trolling for guys in a club? That's kind of desperate."

Phoebe sat up straighter and set her coffee down. She glared at him and said, "Desperate? I'm not desperate, it's called a biological clock, and mine is ticking. I need to find my partner so that I can have kids. Ever since I saw them in my vision quest, I can't just sit by and wait for it to happen. I need to be proactive and work on it. And _you_ know who I'll meet, when I'll meet him, and when I'll have kids. If you would just tell me, then I could relax a little and not be so anxious about it."

Chris glared back, "But you know it _will_ happen, so why worry about who and when? Just let it happen. I'm not telling you, because if I do it could change the future, and then you might not end up with him. I've explained this more then once!"

"I can't just sit back and wait! I need to do something about it."

Chris looked at Leo and said, "A little help here please?"

Leo looked over at Phoebe and said, "Chris is right. Telling you could change the outcome of that relationship. And you've been working a little too hard on finding that special someone. It would probably happen faster if you just didn't try at all."

Phoebe held up her hand and gave them both a little 'go away' motion. "I'm not talking about it with you anymore."

Paige said, "Do you have another date tonight?"

Phoebe thought she had found someone who was on her side and smiled, "Yes. His name is, Jack and he has lots of potential. He's a doctor, and he's…"

Chris interrupted with a mean, "And he's not the one."

Leo said with disapproval, "Chris."

Phoebe glared and said, "Oh, so you'll tell me when it's not the right guy, but you won't give me any of the information I really want."

Chris mumbled, "Sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."

Phoebe took her coffee and stood up. "I'm going to get ready for work, and then I guess I have a date to cancel."

Chris glared at her as she was leaving the room and said, "Or you could just go out anyway and have a good time you know."

She was out of his site now so he yelled out, "Or better yet help us hunt some demons, or help Mom with her research on who might want to hurt Wyatt!"

She yelled back, "I'm having a premonition that you're gonna get whacked in the back of the head if you don't shut up."

Chris rolled his eyes and gave her a dry, "Ha. Ha."

************

That evening Phoebe got home from work, and started getting ready for her date. Paige passed her in the hallway and said, "Are you staying for dinner?"

"No, I have a new date."

Paige said with disbelief, "Another one?"

"On line dating services are an amazing thing. I could date three guys a night if I timed it right."

Paige gave her a look of distaste, and Phoebe said, "It's not like I'm sleeping with them. I'm just meeting them. Jeez."

Paige suddenly put her hand up to her head as she had a vision. She saw a guy breaking into a pawn shop. Then she saw the same guy trying to sell a ring to a young woman. When the woman wouldn't buy, the guy's eyes turned a red color, and he yelled at her with an otherworldly voice right before he stabbed her in the stomach.

When the vision was gone she looked at Paige and said, "Looks like we have work to do before I can go."

Paige had seen Phoebe having visions often enough to know the signs and said, "What did you see?"

Phoebe told her, and Paige said, "Should we call Piper?"

Phoebe shook her head. "No. I've seen this kind of thing before. It's a phantasm. We'll need to get a wand from the attic, and we should be able to take care of it ourselves."

Paige nodded, and as they went to get the wand, Phoebe told Paige everything she knew about phantasms. "Phantasms can't be vanquished like normal demons. The can travel freely between this world and hell. So even if we vanquished them, they could just come right back. So we have to catch them and hold them in a special wand that the power of three put a spell on. They can't get out unless the wand gets broken. We have five in the wand so far. I don't know how many can get sucked into it, but once it's full, we'll have to make a new wand."

"So this wand, you guys made it with Prue?"

Phoebe nodded. They had made it to the attic, and she found the wand. They went back downstairs, and as they were about to head out the door, Phoebe said, "Actually let's call Darryl."

"Why?"

"Phantasms don't tend to go into people who are good. They infect people who are susceptible, because of their bad morals. So this guy would probably have robbed the pawn shop anyway. Darryl can arrest him once we get the phantasm out."

Paige nodded, and Phoebe called Darryl.

Paige and Phoebe met Darryl on the street that was next to the pawn shop from Phoebe's vision. Phoebe explained all she had seen to Darryl, and they all went into the ally. Darryl saw that the man was already there, and that he was trying to pick the lock of the pawn shop's front door. Darryl got out his gun and said, "Freeze, police."

The guy turned around, and gave a growling scream in Darryl's direction. The guy reached into the back of his pants and pulled out a gun. He shot at Darryl, but Darryl ducked in time. Darryl shot the guy twice in the chest, and the man fell. As soon as he was down, Paige held the wand out in front of her and said some words in Latin. A big green blob came out of the man, and floated in the air above him. The blob screamed and was then sucked into the wand that Paige was holding. Darryl reached down and put his hand on the man's neck to check for a pulse. There wasn't one.

Darryl took his cell phone out of his pocket and called for an ambulance, and then for backup. Paige said, "Are you gonna be okay Darryl? Are you going to get into trouble for this?"

He shook his head no and said, "You guys get out of here before anyone shows up. This is a cut and dry case of self defense. I'll be fine."

Phoebe smiled and said, "Good. I need to go hunt down the future father of my children anyway."

Darryl gave her an odd look as she turned to walk back to her car. Darryl looked at Paige who said, "Don't ask." and followed Phoebe.

As they got into the car Paige pointed at a car and said, "I don't remember that car being there when we got here. What if someone saw us?"

Phoebe started up the car and said, "Don't be ridiculous. There's no one else here. I need to get going, or I'm going to be late."

Paige shrugged trusting Phoebe to know what was best since she had been doing this a lot longer then Paige had.

As soon as they drove away a woman peeked up from where she had been hiding behind the dash of the car. She had long light brown hair, pale skin, and she was wearing a police badge. She had a look of shock mixed with fear on her face. After a few seconds of just sitting there breathing hard and letting the adrenaline pump through her veins, she held up a small video camera and played back what she had recorded. Even after seeing it a second and a third time, she couldn't believe what was there.

She looked over at the file that was sitting on the passenger seat. She picked it up and looked through it again. It was a file on Darryl, and all of the cases he had taken care of where suspects had gone missing or ended up dead. The woman said to herself, "Is that why your suspects go missing? Some kind of supernatural, magical stuff?"

She put the file down and watched the video one more time. She saw that backup for Darryl had arrived, and no one was paying attention to her car, but they probably would if she turned it on. She decided she needed a drink or maybe five. She quietly got out of her car and walked away from the scene and towards a bar she had seen three blocks away.

As she walked she tried to decide what to do with this information. Suddenly she had the feeling that something was behind her. She turned around but there was nothing there. She muttered to herself, "Stop being so jumpy."

She turned back around and was face to face with a green blob. Before she had a chance to even scream the phantasm enveloped her. A few seconds later the woman looked like herself again, but something else was in control of her body.

The woman walked with a purpose now, no longer headed towards a normal bar, but in search of a special bar. A few hours later she found the bar, and the demon she was looking for. She walked up to the demon and said, "Shorb?"

Shorb was slightly intoxicated and held up his drink in a solute to her as he noticed her badge, "Hello officer. I have no idea who Shorb is, but let me know if there is anything else I can help you with."

The woman looked annoyed and took off her badge. She stuck it in her pocket. Her eyes glowed red as she said, "I need you to do a job for me."

Shorb looked into her eyes and started to laugh. He said, "You possessed a cop? Talk about stupid. I'm staying as far away from you as I can get."

The woman leaned over so she could speak in his ear. "Barbas said I could count on your support. He said if you helped him, he would owe you."

Shorb put down his drink, and looked the woman in the eye. He said, "You talked to Barbas?"

"He's not happy in hell. If you resurrect him, he'll make sure you never run dry." she indicated his alcohol as she was talking.

Shorb thought about it for a few seconds. Then he waved at the bartender and said, "Coffee. Black."

The woman smiled and Shorb shook his head. "Don't be too happy yet. I might not be able to do it. I've never tried to resurrect someone as powerful as Barbas."

"You'll succeed."

Three hours later Shorb finished his ritual, and Barbas appeared in the middle of the pentagram that Shorb had drawn on the floor. Barbas was dressed all in black. He looked around for a second, and when he realized it had worked, he got a huge grin on his face. He looked at Shorb and said, "Looks like I was right not to underestimate you friend."

Shorb gave Barbas a little nod of respect and said, "It was an honor."

Barbas soaked that up, and then turned towards the woman. He looked at her closely and said, "Glok?"

The woman nodded. Shorb wanted to impress Barbas and said, "The idiot possessed a cop."

Barbas nodded and said, "Good."

Shorb was surprised at that and shut up. Barbas said to the woman, "Who are you in?"

The woman said, "The human's name is Inspector Dianna Sheridan. She was sent to this city to look into the actions of Lieutenant Darryl Morris. She had just seen and videotaped Zlok getting sucked up into a wand by those bitches before I took her over."

"The Charmed ones got your brother?"

Sheridan nodded. Barbas thought about that for a few seconds. He said, "Well let's plan our revenge."

Just before daybreak Barbas appeared in Darryl's bedroom. He saw Darryl sleeping next to his wife. Barbas slunk up to the bed, and held his hand up in front of Darryl's head with his palm facing away from Darryl. Then Barbas looked at his own palm and whispered, "Your greatest fear is getting caught doing something illegal to help the Charmed Ones protect magic. You know it will be the last straw for your wife, and she will leave you and take the kids with her."

*************

The next morning Paige came downstairs to find Phoebe in the kitchen cooking something, but Paige couldn't figure out what it was supposed to be. Paige said, "Is that supposed to be breakfast?" Chris came in and got himself some coffee and started to look in the refrigerator for food.

Phoebe said to Paige, "Nope it's a potion to try and boost my premonitions. Hopefully I'll only have to come within three feet of a guy to know if he's the one."

Chris shut the refrigerator door a little more forcefully then necessary and said, "You've got to be kidding me."

Phoebe glared. "I wasn't even talking to you buster."

"Haven't you learned anything about personal gain after all these years? It's bad enough you're using your premonitions to do your own version of speed dating, but now you're trying to make your premonitions stronger? I can't believe it!"

"I know what I'm doing, and you need to keep your nose out of my business. I don't really think I need to take advice from my nephew."

Chris' voice got louder, "In this time I'm only about six years younger then you _Aunt_ Phoebe, so I think you should listen to me. Besides that I'm your Whitelighter, and it's my job to help guide all three of you in your Charmed duties. Now I'm telling you what you're doing is not only misguided, but it could be dangerous."

Phoebe glared, "I've been practicing magic for a long time now, and like I said I know what I'm doing."

Chris set his coffee down and crossed his arms. "Really? Let's add it up. You've been using your magic now for about six years right? And I've been at it for about twenty one years now. Are you really going to stand there and tell me I have nothing useful to say about what you're doing?"

Phoebe tossed in the last ingredient and, "It's done."

Chris yelled, "Are you even listening to me?!"

Phoebe scooped some of the potion up with a spoon, blew on it until it was cool, and swallowed it.

At that point Leo came into the room with a serious expression and said, "We have a problem."

Everyone looked over at him. He said, "I just got off the phone with Darryl's wife Sheila. Darryl's been arrested for murder."

Phoebe looked pale and said, "Oh my God."

Paige looked over at Leo and said, "We just saw him last night. He helped us with a case."

Leo nodded and said, "He told her about it, that's why she called."

Chris sneered at Phoebe and said, "Is personal gain sounding familiar about now?"

She glared at him and even pointed her finger at him as she said, "Don't you dare start bickering with me about that. Darryl is in trouble and this is serious."

Chris yelled, "I know it's serious! I'm being serious; you just won't take me seriously!"

Leo said, "Hey now, what's the problem here?"

Chris and Phoebe both started talking at once. Leo shook his head and held his hands up. He said, "One at a time please. Phoebe."

Chris crossed his arms irritated that she was going first. Phoebe said, "Chris is implying that Darryl being in jail is the result of me using my premonitions to try and find the father of my child."

Leo looked over at Chris. Chris said, "She just made a potion so that she doesn't even have to touch a guy to get a premonition off him, _and_ swallowed some of it the second before you came into the room."

Leo looked at Phoebe with some disappointment and said, "How is this potion for the greater good exactly?"

Phoebe said, "Well…. This way I'll be able to find my soul mate that much sooner, and get back to concentrating on my work."

Leo looked unconvinced. "I don't think that pans out Phoebe. I would suggest you toss that potion down the sink and get started on finding out what happened with Darryl."

Phoebe thought about it for a second, and then pouted as she poured her potion down the sink. Chris yelled, "So you'll listen to him but not me when we tell you the exact same thing?"

Phoebe whacked Chris on the upper arm. Chris said, "Hey!" and put his hand up to cover the spot where she had hit him.

Phoebe just glared at him, and he said, "What was that for?"

"For being right. I hate it when you're right." Phoebe walked off towards the stairs and said to Paige, "Let me get dressed, and then you can orb us to the police station and we'll see if we can get in to see Darryl."

When she was out of earshot Paige said, "You know Chris, you might have been able to make her listen to you if you hadn't started out by attacking her the way you did."

"I didn't attack her!"

Paige nodded and said, "I think you kind of did."

"Just because I don't have the patience of a saint like Leo does, doesn't mean I wasn't right, or that she shouldn't listen to me."

Paige walked out of the kitchen without responding. Leo put a hand on Chris' shoulder in a comforting way and said, "Ever heard the phrase you can attract more flies with honey then vinegar?"

Chris gave Leo a half hearted glare and said, "Yes, about a million times. All of them from you in the future."

Leo smiled and said, "Do you think it will sink in after a million and one?"

Chris muttered, "I need more coffee." and walked over to retrieve his mug.

Phoebe and Paige went to the police station and asked to see their friend Darryl. They had been seen around the station enough that most people recognized them as Darryl's friends. They had to wait for a while, but eventually they got to go in and visit him. Right away Phoebe could tell that Darryl was more worried and even looked scared. He had his head in his hands and wouldn't even look up at them. Phoebe and Paige were standing behind the bars, and Phoebe said, "Darryl?"

He looked up at them and walked over to the bars so they could talk quietly. Paige asked, "What happened?"

"I found out today that I've been under surveillance for a while now. I also found out that Inspector Sheridan was actually sent here to investigate me."

Phoebe shook her head. "But why?"

Darryl hissed with anger, "Why? Why do you think Phoebe? Because of you three and the stuff I do to help you."

Paige said, "What murder are you being accused of?"

"The guy from last night."

"But that was self defense!"

Darryl shook his head. "It would have been, except that Sheridan got it all on video."

Phoebe put a hand to her mouth, and Paige turned to her and said, "The car."

Phoebe nodded. Paige turned to Darryl and said, "But the video should prove that it was self defense."

Darryl glared at her. "It would if it hadn't been altered. My lawyer got a copy and showed it to me. It shows me killing the guy in cold blood. You two aren't even in the video. It just has me shooting the guy. He isn't holding a gun or any weapon at all."

Phoebe said, "We'll find out who did this, and I promise you we'll fix it."

"How?!"

Paige said, "Magic got you into this, magic will get you out."

Darryl rolled his eyes and said, "Great. That's your answer to everything isn't it? More magic. My wife took the kids and left to go visit her mother this morning. She may never be back. She has begged me more then once to stop helping you guys. She kept telling me it would end up killing both my carrier and our marriage, but I was too stubborn to listen. Maybe you guys should just stay out of it."

Phoebe shook her head. "I'm sorry Darryl, but I'm not about to let you do time for a crime you didn't commit."

She turned to Paige and said, "Let's start with Inspector Sheridan. I'll touch her arm and get a premonition from her. See if she had something to do with the altered tape."

Paige nodded, and then said to Darryl, "We'll keep you updated."

Darryl just went back to his bunk and put his head back in his hands trying to quell his rising panic.

Paige and Phoebe found Inspector Sheridan easily. They asked her about Darryl, and Phoebe 'accidentally' touched her arm. Sheridan blew them off telling them she couldn't discuss the case with them, and to go home. As soon as they were outside Paige turned to Phoebe and said, "Well?"

Phoebe turned to her with wide eyes and said, "Nothing."

"What do you mean nothing?"

"I mean I got nothing from her. No premonition, no empathy feelings, just nothing."

"That's odd."

Phoebe walked out into the street and 'bumped' into the first guy she saw. She apologized, and he steadied her with a hand on her arm to make sure she didn't fall. She said thanks, and then walked back to her sister. Paige said, "Well?"

Phoebe sounded a little scared and said, "Nothing."

They went around the side of the building to the ally, and Paige orbed them both home to the attic. Chris and Leo were looking in the book of shadows and discussing Wyatt as usual when they showed up. Phoebe looked ashamed of herself before they even started talking. Chris was impatient and said, "Well?"

Paige said, "We should probably go to magic school, so that we can talk to Piper at the same time. She's going to want to know."

All four of them orbed, and soon found Piper in the daycare area playing with Wyatt. She saw them, and told one of the teachers she would be back for Wyatt a little later. Soon they were all in Piper's room in the dormitory. Piper said, "This must be serious if all four of you are here at the same time."

Leo told her, "Darryl has been arrested for murder. Paige and Phoebe just got back from seeing him, and they thought you'd want to hear what they found out."

Paige said, "We found out that a woman detective named Sheridan was sent to this police station to investigate Darryl. They've been a little suspicious of him lately since his suspects tend to end up either dead or missing. I guess she was following him last night."

Leo asked, "What did you guys do last night?"

"We got rid of a phantasm, and we had Darryl there to arrest the guy that the phantasm was possessing. But the guy tried to shoot Darryl, so he shot back and killed the guy. I guess Inspector Sheridan got the whole thing on tape."

Chris yelled, "What? And you guys didn't even notice an innocent standing by taping the show?! You can't just go around using magic and not clean up after yourselves."

Phoebe yelled, "Oh please, you did the same thing! A few weeks ago you got video taped stealing money and orbing to do it!"

Chris turned pink and shut up. Leo stepped in and said calmly, "But that doesn't make what you did right Phoebe."

She looked away and nodded once. Paige said, "But that isn't even the real problem. The problem is that Darryl says the tape was altered. His lawyer let him see the tape, and he says in the tape he shoots the guy in cold blood. The guy isn't even holding a knife let alone a gun."

Chris looked at Leo and asked, "The Cleaners?"

Leo shook his head. "I doubt it. Darryl has protected magic more then once. I don't think they would do that to him."

Chris said, "I guess it doesn't really matter who did it, we can just do a spell to mess up the tape like Phoebe did for me, and then they won't have any evidence. Give Inspector Sheridan some white powder to forget, and they won't have a witness. The charges will be dropped."

Piper shook her head, "No it matters, because someone is trying to get to us through Darryl and hurting him to do it. We need to find out who or what is behind this."

Phoebe said, "That's not all."

Piper sighed and said, "Of course not. What else?"

Phoebe looked worried. "I couldn't get a premonition off of Sheridan. In fact, I couldn't get a premonition or any empathetic feelings from anyone in the station or on the street."

Piper looked surprised. "So I guess whoever did this to Darryl has also targeted you. Maybe a demon did a spell to block your powers."

Chris jumped in with, "Or it's because of your misuse of magic!"

Phoebe yelled, "What about _your_ misuse of magic?!"

"My misuse of magic?! You don't see me using my magic as a dating service!"

"No, you just use it to manipulate us into getting your own way all the time!"

Everyone heard popping noises from Piper, and then heard a grunt of pain from Chris and a yelp from Phoebe. As soon as Chris had heard the noise, he had known what was coming, and didn't react too much, but as soon as he heard Phoebe yelp he stared at his mother with surprise.

Phoebe had both hands on her butt. She looked at Piper in utter shock. "Did you just swat me?"

Piper didn't look apologetic, and in fact looked angry still. She said, "I have had heartburn for three days straight now, baby Chris keeps kicking my bladder, my back is killing me, and this is interrupting my quiet time. You two need to knock it off."

Chris muttered, "Sorry."

Phoebe said, "I can't believe you just did that! How is that even possible, you can't freeze other witches, how can you use that power on us?"

Piper shrugged not knowing the answer.

Leo changed the subject. "You know Phoebe, Chris may have a point."

Phoebe was feeling ganged up on. "I doubt it."

Leo said, "Try to levitate."

Phoebe nodded and jumped into the air. She landed with a 'thud' on the floor hitting bottom first. She said, "Ow!"

Leo put his hand out for her and helped her stand up. Phoebe looked at him for some kind of explanation. He said, "You have been misusing your powers Phoebe. You've been using your premonitions for your own personal gain, and you even did a spell to try and boost your powers. If you misuse your powers enough, they'll go away."

Phoebe shook her head no, and Paige said, "Really?"

Leo nodded and said, "Yes. Magic itself knows when it is being misused, and it will reject the person using it."

Phoebe said, "What will I do? How can I get it back?"

"It will come back in time, probably in stages like it did the first time, and if you use it correctly you will gain back more."

Paige said, "What about the power of three?"

Leo thought about it for a second. "Phoebe is still a witch, so she should be able to do spells, and make potions."

Phoebe sighed, "Thank goodness for that."

Piper said, "You and Paige were getting rid of a phantasm right?"

Phoebe nodded. Piper continued, "If Sheridan taped it, she must have seen the phantasm. That has to be a big shock to most people, but you said you saw her at the police station today and she seemed fine?"

Paige said, "Yeah, she did."

Piper turned to Chris. "Don't phantasms usually travel in pairs?"

"Yes."

"Well maybe Sheridan has been possessed."

Leo sounded doubtful, "Phantasms don't usually go for high risk people like that. They would be much more likely to possess a drug dealer."

Chris said, "But they might if they had someone else telling them what to do. A demon who was higher up."

Piper nodded and said, "Okay, Chris you go use your underworld connections to go find out what you can about the phantasm we sucked into the wand, and about who may be pulling the strings. Leo, go with him."

Chris and Leo both orbed. Piper turned to Paige and Phoebe and said, "You two go back to the jail, and see if you can get close enough to the tape to do a spell and delete it."

Phoebe nodded and took Paige's hand. Paige said, "What are you going to do?"

"If you could bring me the book of shadows, I'll look through it and try to see if I can find out who would have the ability to alter the tape, and to have control over a couple of phantasms."

When Chris and Leo got to the underworld Chris said, "I can't believe Phoebe has misused her powers so much that they just went away. How did you deal with her when you were her Whitelighter?"

Leo smiled and said, "Phoebe is impulsive, but that has helped save the sisters more then once, so I like to see it as an asset."

Chris muttered, "You would." and headed off to start interrogating demons. Then he had another thought and said, "How is it not a misuse of power for Mom to swat me and Phoebe?"

Leo said, "Magic itself must see it as a valid use of power."

Chris shook his head and gave a sarcastic, "Just great."

****************

They wandered the underworld for the next two hours looking for the demons Chris knew. He had many of them convinced he was a demon as well, and Leo had to keep hidden, because as Chris put it, Leo's good nature was 'sickeningly obvious'. Leo spent a lot of time blended into the wall invisible to most while keeping an eye on his son. Leo had been doing this for a while, and he was still surprised at how good Chris was at playing evil.

Chris was beginning to lose hope of getting any information about the phantasms when he finally caught a break. He had just gone into another of the bars in the underworld, when he saw Shorb sitting at the bar. Shorb was talking to a female demon loudly, but Chris had come in at the middle of the conversation. Shorb said, "The one and only. I'm telling you it was a beautiful thing. I had no idea I could resurrect someone so powerful, and the best part is that now he's in my debt."

The female looked properly impressed and said, "What's he like in person?"

Shorb took another drink of alcohol and said, "He's not much to look at. Kinda short and thin with bad teeth, and graying hair. But his looks don't matter. You can just feel the power coming off him."

The female sighed and said, "What are you going to ask him for to repay his debt to you?"

Shorb took another drink. "Nothing for now. Although he did promise to keep me in drinks, and so far he's been really good about that."

The female said, "Does he seem scary? I mean he is the demon of fear right?"

Chris felt the hair rise on the back of his neck. He had had dealings with Barbas before. In his future Wyatt had used Shorb to resurrect Barbas, and he had used him to go after the people he really didn't like.

Shorb shrugged and said, "Not really. I mean maybe he would be to an innocent, but not to me."

Chris walked up to Shorb and interrupted the conversation by saying, "Hey Shorb, remember me, or are you too wasted."

Shorb smiled and said, "Hello friend. Need another job? Seems my talents are in high demand lately. My prices have gone up."

Chris smiled back. "Sure I have another job for you, and money isn't an issue. But being sober is. How about some coffee?"

Shorb shooed him away and said, "I don't need to be sober to resurrect some little demon. If you want me to dry out, you'll have to wait a few days."

Chris turned to the girl and used his telekinesis to choke her with her own necklace. Her eyes got wide and her hands went to her throat to try and get the pressure off, but she couldn't loosen it. Chris smiled at her and said, "Leave us or I'll be inclined to kill you."

Her eyes were wide with panic, and she nodded as best she could. Chris turned his back on her, and as soon as she could breath again she ran away from them and out of the bar. Shorb looked disappointed and said, "That was just mean. She liked me."

Chris pulled on Shorb's arm and said, "Come on."

Shorb tried to fight back, but he could barley walk, so it wasn't too difficult for Chris to pull him along. He took him into the restroom and made sure there were no other demons around. Then he said, "Leo?"

Leo appeared in front of him. Shorb said, "Hey, what's with this guy? I thought you wanted me to do a job."

Chris ignored him and said to Leo, "Follow my orb."

Leo nodded. Chris orbed himself and Shorb to a tiny ledge on a cliff face in the underworld. Far below them was a lake of molten lava. Shorb saw the lake and hastily tried to step back, only to find he couldn't. He pressed his back up against the cliff wall, and looked to Chris in fear. He said, "What do you want with me witch?"

Chris and Leo were standing on the small ledge as well, but neither was all that worried about falling because they could orb if they did. Chris said, "Information."

Shorb said, "Buy an Encyclopedia."

"Tell me about Barbas."

Shorb thought for a second and then said, "Barbas is a fear demon. Well really the most powerful fear demon any one has ever come across. He was vanquished by the Charmed Ones some time ago. Everyone knows that, so why are you asking me?"

Chris flicked his hand at Shorb, and Shorb lurched forward about an inch. Shorb yelled in fear and pressed himself up against the wall again. Chris looked bored and said, "Tell me about Barbas, unless you think you're gonna enjoy the lakes of hell."

Shorb looked down again and said, "I resurrected him last night."

"Why?"

"Some possessed woman told me to do it."

"A phantasm?"

"Yes, that's right. Said she had made friends with Barbas in hell, and that he would pay me quite well to resurrect him. I wasn't sure if I could, but I did."

"What did the woman look like?"

"She was white with long light brown hair. She was some kind of cop."

Chris and Leo exchanged a look. Chris said, "What's Barbas up to now that he's back?"

"How should I know?"

Chris flicked his hand again, and this time had to grab the back of Shorb's shirt before he fell off the ledge. Shorb screamed and said, "Please! I'll tell you anything you want to know, just please don't kill me."

Chris pulled him back to rest against the wall and said, "What is Barbas up to?"

Shorb was shaking and said, "He's getting back at the Charmed ones for vanquishing him, but he doesn't want to go after them directly since they won the last time that happened. So he's trying to hurt that cop that helps them."

Chris nodded and said in a more soothing voice, "Good. Now where can I find him?"

Shorb shook his head. Chris said, "How do you contact him then?"

Shorb said, "I don't. He has people check up on me and make sure I have what I need."

Chris nodded and looked over at Leo. He said, "Anything else?"

Leo shook his head no. Chris turned back around and flung his whole arm out towards Shorb. Shorb screamed as his entire body was flung away from the ledge, and out over the void between the cliff sides. Chris watched with a smile on his face as Shorb fell towards the swirling molten lava. Leo held out his hand and suddenly Shorb was orbed back to the ledge from his fall. Shorb was still screaming, and when he realized he wasn't falling he looked around with wild eyes. Chris turned to Leo with anger. "What the hell are you doing Leo?"

"What are you doing Chris?"

Chris glared at Leo and said, "You don't understand. This demon is going to be Wyatt's right hand man. He is going to bring back every last one of our worst enemies to work with Wyatt against us. I don't have that many demons that I actually want to kill, but this guy is one of them."

Shorb said, "Please don't! I don't know any Wyatt! You let me go last time, please show some mercy on me."

Chris yelled, "I let you go because I thought you might still be useful, and because I didn't realize you could already resurrect upper class demons!"

Chris flung his hand again and Shorb went over the ledge. Shorb screamed again, and Chris watched him fall to his death. Once the lava had swallowed Shorb, he yelled down, "Good luck resurrecting yourself!"

Chris turned back to Leo with a smile on his face. But his smile died when Leo gave him a look of sadness and pity. Leo put a hand on Chris' shoulder and said, "In our line of work killing demons is necessary, but it should never be fun Chris, no matter what the demon has done."

Chris couldn't stand the tone of voice or the look Leo was giving him that screamed disappointment. Chris was conflicted. It had felt good to kill Shorb, because he knew it was one more chink in Wyatt's evil future. But he could feel his face getting red with shame at the look his father was giving him. He mumbled, "We should get back to Mom and tell her about Barbas."

Leo nodded and they both orbed to magic school. They found Piper, Phoebe, Paige, and Wyatt in Piper's apartment in the dormitory. Before they could ask Phoebe said, "We couldn't get close to the tape. It's being tested for authenticity right now.

Piper saw Chris' face and said, "Is something wrong sweetie?"

Chris covered up what he was really thinking about and said, "We found out who is behind all of this."

Phoebe said, "Who?"

Leo said, "Barbas."

Phoebe shook her head. "That can't be right, we vanquished him for good. He's not coming back."

Chris said, "There is… was a demon named Shorb, who could resurrect demons that had been vanquished. He resurrected Barbas last night. Right before Darryl got arrested. Anyone want to guess what Darryl's greatest fear is?"

Piper said, "Getting arrested because of us."

Paige said, "Sheila left him and took the kids too. All of that added up together sounds like a nightmare to me."

Chris said, "I'm pretty sure Sheridan is being possessed by the other phantasm. Shorb said it was a female cop with white skin and long light brown hair."

Phoebe nodded. "That's her."

Chris said, "We need to orb over to the jail, get Darryl out, and bring him back here. He's in danger from both Barbas and Sheridan. Barbas could just show up in his cell anytime and kill him with his own fears, or Sheridan could shoot him or put him in with other prisoners."

Piper said, "I don't see how we can get him out without exposing magic."

Chris scoffed, "Who cares? Darryl has helped us more times than we can count, and now that he's in danger we need to protect him no matter what."

Leo shook his head. "Who cares Chris? Me, your mom, your aunts, the elders, the Cleaners, heck even some of the demons we fight against all care about exposing magic. And you need to care too."

Chris rolled his eyes. "I care about Darryl and getting him out before he ends up dead."

Piper said, "We all care about Darryl, that's not the issue. The issue is we don't want to get him into even more trouble. If he is discovered gone from his cell he'll be wanted for not only murder, but for trying to escape."

Chris crossed his arms and said, "Then what should we do Mom? Just sit back while Darryl gets killed?"

Piper gave him a glare and said, "Excuse me?"

Leo interrupted, "Hey, you need to tone it down Chris. We all want to help Darryl, but you need to have some patience and see if we can all come up with a better plan then just orbing in there and taking him. But since you're so worried about him, I'll monitor him with my mind while we're talking, so I'll know if he's in danger."

Chris gave a resigned sigh and said, "I'll just go after Barbas while you guys work on getting Darryl out. I can't vanquish him by myself, but I can hurt him, and make sure he doesn't have the energy to go after Darryl for a couple of days."

Piper said, "What? No! No way you're going after Barbas alone, or even with us. He's dangerous."

Chris shrugged, "He can't hurt me."

Piper shook her head in disbelief, "Of course he can Chris. He almost killed us the last time we were up against him."

Chris looked her in the eyes and said, "I've already lived through all of my worst fears in the future. There's nothing else he can show me."

Piper felt herself tear up at that. She believed he had lived through his worst fears. She couldn't stand the empty look in his eyes as he had said it.

Leo said, "No" firmly.

Chris looked over at Leo. Leo said, "You will not go after Barbas yourself. I don't care if you believe he can hurt you or not, I believe he can, and you're not going to do it."

Chris said, "Jesus Leo, I'm not five. I think I can handle myself. I'm telling you I can take care of it."

Leo shook his head and again said, "No."

Chris' temper came to a boiling point. He uncrossed his arms, jabbed a finger towards Leo, and yelled, "I'm sick of you telling me what to do!!"

Leo crossed his arms and said patiently, "I don't particularly care if you're sick of it, as long as you do what I tell you to do."

Chris just stood there with his mouth half open not knowing what to say to that.

Piper glared at Chris for a few seconds, and then turned to her sisters and said, "We need to get to that tape, and to Sheridan."

Paige said, "I've come up with a spell that should make the tape revert back to the original footage, and then it should go blank right after the guy gets shot."

Piper nodded and said, "Good, but we still have to get to it."

Leo said, "The three of you could go together, and Piper could freeze everything in the station long enough for you three to get to the tape, do the spell, and then get back out."

Piper smiled at him. "Great idea."

She turned back to her sisters and said, "What about Sheridan?"

Phoebe shook her head. "She's seen me and Paige, so she'll know something is fishy if we go to see her."

Phoebe looked over at Leo and said, "You and Chris should get the phantasm wand from the attic, and then once we're done with the tape, the two of you can go ask to see her at the police station. Tell her you have information about a crime, and tell her you want to talk to her alone. Then when you're alone in a room take the phantasm out, and help her forget what she originally saw with some of your white powder."

Leo nodded. "That's a good idea Phoebe."

Piper said, "Sounds like a plan. You and Chris go get the wand while the three of us go to the station. Then once we're done changing the tape we'll meet you back here, and the two of you can go get Sheridan. They won't be able to hold Darryl for long once they have no evidence or witnesses."

Everyone nodded in agreement except Chris. Piper said, "Chris?"

Chris was still pissed, but did think it was a good plan. He nodded once, but didn't look at anyone. Piper and Phoebe both took one of Paige's hands, and the three of them orbed.

The sisters appeared in the ally behind the police station. They made sure no one was around, and then walked around to the front. They walked in, and before anyone even noticed they were there, Piper froze time in the room. They walked past everyone and Piper said, 'Do you guys know where they're testing the tape?"

Phoebe shook her head no. Piper sighed and said, "I guess that means we'll have to search."

They walked to another room, and Piper froze that room while the room they had just left started back up again. They wandered this way for a few minutes, until they found the correct room. There were three people in the room, and they were all watching the tape. Paige got out a little scrap of paper that held the spell she had written. She and Phoebe read it together:

This tape will show

the truth of that night

while protecting magic

by keeping it out of sight

They waited a second for it to take effect, and then walked out of the police station the same way they had walked in, with Piper freezing rooms as they went. Once they were outside, they went back to the ally, and Paige orbed the three of them back to magic school. Chris and Leo already had the wand and were waiting for them. Leo asked, "How did it go?"

Piper smiled, "Very well. They should be seeing the original tape footage as we speak."

Chris put the wand in his pocket and said, "We'd better find Sheridan before she finds out it's been changed."

Phoebe said, "I need to get in to work, I'm really late as it is, but call me or come get me if there's anything else I need to do."

Paige said, "I need to go to work today too."

Piper waved them off and said, "We'll let you know if anything new happens."

Paige took Phoebe's hand and they orbed. Piper waved Leo and Chris off too and said, "Go get Sheridan."

Chris and Leo both orbed over to the police station, and walked through the front door. They went to the front desk and Chris said, "I'd like to speak with Detective Sheridan please."

The lady at the front said, "I'm sorry, Detective Sheridan isn't in today. Is there someone else who can help you?"

Chris didn't have to fake disappointment at this news. He shook his head no and asked, "Will she be back in tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure, she's out sick."

Chris and Leo walked a few feet away so they could talk privately. Chris said, "Phantasms don't get sick. I'm sure she's helping Barbas. We need to warn Darryl and let him know what's going on."

Leo nodded and said, "I'll stay and get in to see Darryl, it may take a while. You should go back and tell your mom what's going on. Maybe the two of you can come up with a plan to find her."

Chris nodded and walked out of the building. He knew the best way to find both Barbas and Sheridan, but he didn't think his parents would approve. But Leo would be busy in the jail for at least an hour, and Piper wasn't expecting them back right away, so he thought this would be his chance. Chris knew that both his parents would most likely find out what he was up to, and thought, 'I haven't lied about it, or manipulated them in any way, so they can't be too mad about it.'

Chris orbed to the attic in the manor, still thinking about his parents. He thought, 'And I'm not putting anyone in danger or hurting anyone either. Well….. they may think I'm putting myself in danger, but I'm not, and I'll just have to prove that to them.'

He gathered up some supplies and did a quick spell. Once he was done he looked in the mirror and grimaced at his appearance. He orbed down to the underworld, and walked towards the first bar he saw with a purposely unsteady gait. He went straight to the bar and banged on the counter to get the bartenders attention.

The bartender yelled out, "I see you Shorb, keep your shirt on."

Chris waited, and a few seconds later the bartender brought him Shorb's regular. Chris nodded and said, "Put it on Barbas' tab."

The bartender rolled his eyes and said, "I know old man, you've told me twice today."

Chris took a drink and then said a little too loudly, "He's in my debt you know."

The bartender said, "Yeah, yeah." and walked off to help other customers.

Chris looked around the room for any young female demons. He saw two of them sitting together at a table a little ways off. He took his drink and stumbled over to them. He gave them an exaggerated smile and said, "Hello ladies, how would you like to hear the story of how I resurrected the greatest fear demon of all time?"

One said, "Yeah right."

The other one said, "Get out of here creep."

Chris looked offended. "You don't believe me? I can prove it!"

Chris turned around, spread his arms open and called out loudly, "Barbas! Barbas where are you?"

He waited a couple of seconds and the girls behind him both started laughing at him. Then he called out, "Glok! Hey you stupid little Phantasm, show yourself! Your boss is in my debt, and I want payment!"

The girls laughed some more, and Chris stumbled back to the bar, being careful to spill his drink on the floor as he went. He banged on the bar again and said, "Refill!"

He sat there waiting for about fifteen minutes hoping that it had worked while sipping the drink. He figured he would only have about another half an hour at most before he was noticed missing, and he really wanted his plan to work so that he could prove to his parents that he could take care of himself, and be a valuable part of the team. He was about to make another scene when Sheridan walked in. Chris tried not to smirk, as he mumbled incoherently into his drink.


	6. Chapter 6

Leo waited around for over half an hour before he was allowed to see Darryl. But as promised, Leo kept Darryl's wellbeing in the forefront of his mind to make sure nothing was wrong with him as he waited. He had confidence that Piper and Chris could come up with a good plan together for getting Sheridan.

He finally got in to see Darryl, and Darryl looked almost happy to see him. He said, "Hey Darryl, how are you holding up?"

Darryl went over to the bars so they could talk quietly and said, "Not so good Leo. Please tell me you have some good news for me."

"The good news is that the girls 'fixed' the tape so it will show what originally happened without showing the magic. So now the evidence against you is gone."

Darryl nodded and said, "That is good news, and if it works, they'll probably have forensics take a closer look at the crime scene and the man I shot. They should be able to find the bullet he shot at me, as well as powder residue on his hands from firing the shot."

Leo nodded. "And we haven't gotten to her yet, but we're working on Sheridan. We've figured out she was possessed by a phantasm. By the end of the day today, she will hopefully be back to her normal self, and I'm going to help her forget what she saw that night, so your eye witness will be gone too. I'm guessing you will be out of here in a day or two tops."

Darryl nodded wanting badly to believe that. He said, "Thanks man."

"Don't thank me yet, I haven't gotten to the bad news yet."

"Bad news? Maybe I don't want to hear it."

Leo sighed, "You're in danger. There's a demon named Barbas who is behind all of this, and he targeted you because you've helped out the sisters so often. He wanted to get back at them, but he knew he would loose if he attacked them directly."

"But I don't understand…. Is he the thing that possessed Sheridan?"

"No, but he is working with the phantasm. Barbas is a fear demon. He can see anyone's greatest fear, and then use that against them. He can literally scare people to death."

Darryl looked around at his cell and said, "Well he can't get me in here."

"Actually he can. He can orb in anytime he wants."

"But that would expose magic…..unless he messed with the security system"

Leo sighed, "I wouldn't put it past him. And we think he's already put your worst fears into action. Getting put in prison for protecting magic, and having Sheila take the kids and leave…… It's all part of it. And if he wanted to kill you, he could show up here and make you see things that weren't really happening. He could show something like Sheila killing herself because she was so upset with you, and you would believe she was there dying in front of you."

Darryl shook his head not wanting to believe it. Leo said, "I've been monitoring you for the past hour or so, making sure that you're not overly upset."

"Why?"

"So that we can come rescue you if Barbas shows up and tries to kill you."

Darryl thought about it for a few seconds, and then started to shake his head. He said, "No."

"No what?"

"If this Barbas guy shows up, then I'll just have to deal with it on my own. I don't want you guys coming in here and having a magical showdown in my cell. Not only would that expose magic, but it would scare people."

"If he shows up, I could orb you to magic school where the sisters can protect you, or if you don't like that idea I could at least orb you to the manor to get you out of harms way."

Darryl looked upset and shook his head no. "Leo, you can't just come in here and orb me somewhere else. I'm a cop. I don't think you people understand what that means to me! I'm accused of murder. It will be detrimental to my case if I go missing, and they think I've escaped. I won't leave."

"But there won't be a case if you're dead."

Darryl looked Leo in the eyes and said, "I'd rather be dead then a criminal. I will not leave this cell until I'm cleared of the charges. If this is what I get for helping you guys and protecting magic over the years then so be it. I've always been uncomfortable with covering up what really happens with my cases, so maybe this is some kind of justice. But understand me here Leo, I'm not going anywhere with you no matter what."

Leo gave Darryl a short nod and said, "I'll respect your decision, but if Barbas comes in here to kill you, the sisters and I will most likely show up and vanquish him whether you want us to or not. We can't just sit by and let our friend die, especially a friend who has put himself on the line for us more then once."

Darryl gave him a nod as well. Leo said, "I've got to get back to Piper and Chris. I'm sure they're working on getting Sheridan. Do you have any tips for us on finding her?"

Darryl shook his head, "Sorry, I don't even know where she lives."

"Okay. I'll be monitoring you still, and one of us will let you know when we find her and get the phantasm out."

Darryl nodded and watched Leo walk away.

***************

Sheridan walked up to Chris and hissed, "What do you want now Shorb?"

Chris pretended to just notice her and smiled. He looked over to the female demons and said, "I want you to tell them who you're working for, and I want you to tell them what I did."

Sheridan growled, and said, "You called me all the way over here for this? Barbas and I are busy. He is keeping you in drinks, and since you can apparently drink your weight in alcohol every day, I'd say he's more then repaid you. So why don't you go pass out somewhere and stop bothering us."

Chris glared and shook his head while sloshing his drink a little. "That isn't the way it's gonna work if Barbas wants me to resurrect someone else for him."

Sheridan's eyes got red with anger and she grabbed his arm. She pulled him into the bathroom so that she could threaten him in private. He stumbled and dropped his drink on the floor, but that didn't slow Sheridan down. Once they were in the bathroom Sheridan let Chris go and said, "Listen up buddy. You need to learn your place. You are a lower class demon with a drinking problem. Barbas is NOT at your beck and call. If you keep this up, you're going wish for death."

Chris nodded and said in a more normal voice, "Good threat. Probably would have worked too."

He took the wand out of his pocket and held it up in front of Sheridan. She screamed as the phantasm was ripped from her body and sucked into the wand. It only took a few seconds, and when it was done Sheridan fell to the floor unconscious. Chris leaned down over her and checked her pulse. It was strong. He put the wand away, and then reached into his other pocket to get some of the white powder that Whitelighters used to help innocents forget upsetting magical things. Chris sprinkled the right amount over her forehead and held a hand over her head for a few seconds while he muttered a spell. Then he checked her pulse again. He was about to pick her up and orb her out of the underworld when he heard a voice behind him.

"Shorb certainly wasn't smart enough or sober enough to get rid of my phantasm, so why don't you show yourself. I always like to know who I'm killing."

Chris didn't even have to turn around to recognize Barbas' voice. As he turned he flung his arm out and used his telekinesis to toss Barbas against the far wall. As soon as Barbas made contact with a loud 'thump', Chris used his magic to pick Barbas up again and fling him head first into the corner of the metal stall door.

But Barbas recovered quickly, and he orbed before his head made contact. He showed up behind Chris. He held out his hand to see who Chris really was, and to get his greatest fear, but Chris was too fast for him. Barbas went flying towards the porcelain sink. He hit it stomach first, and his head made contact with the mirror that was above the sink before falling to the ground with shards of mirror falling with him. Before Barbas had time to recover, Chris used his magic to pick up all the sharp shards of glass and jam them into various parts of Barbas' body all at the same time.

Barbas screamed and orbed. Chris expected him to orb away, but Barbas surprised him by orbing right behind him again, but even closer this time. Barbas grabbed Chris' shoulder, pulled the largest shard of mirror out of his stomach, and jammed it into Chris' back on the right side. Chris screamed and went down to his knees. His appearance changed, and Barbas looked at him in his true form. He smiled and said, "Nice try witch."

Chris grit his teeth and pulled the shard out of his back with another scream. While he was doing that, Barbas held his hand up next to Chris' face. Barbas looked at his hand and said, "Your greatest fear…… was your reality."

Barbas took a closer look at Chris. Chris glared and tried to focus and gather his strength so he could fling Barbas again. Barbas gave him a nasty smile and said, "But not anymore."

Now Chris started to look a little worried. Barbas started pulling shards of the mirror out of himself as he was talking, and his wounds started scabbing up as soon as he pulled each shard out. Barbas said, "Now your greatest fear is failing in you mission and going back to that same reality. The reality where Mommy is dead, Daddy might as well be, and Brother Dearest only keeps you alive to torture you."

Barbas got control of Chris' mind, and soon Chris could see those things right in front of him. Piper was dead on the floor with a hole in her. His father was looking down at him from the sky with a bored look of indifference on his face. Wyatt was standing beside him smirking at the situation. Wyatt held up his hand and Chris started to choke. Wyatt said, "I can't believe you actually went back in time to try and change me little bother. You can't change history! Especially mine! You had to know you were going to fail before you even left. Not only did you not change things, but you ended up killing Bianca in the process. Nice work, by the way. I didn't tell you about that did I? I healed her and killed her again a few times. You know, just for fun."

Chris still couldn't breath, and he was starting to see stars. He almost welcomed death. The only reason he wanted to hold on was to smash the look of satisfaction off Wyatt's face, but he didn't get the chance.

*****************

Leo walked out of the police station and went to the side of the building. He looked around to make sure no one was there, and then orbed back to magic school. He found Piper in the library. She smiled at him and said, "How'd it go?"

"Okay I guess. Darryl says if his life is in danger he still doesn't want us to orb him out of there. He's really upset about the whole situation. I don't know how our relationship is going to work once he gets out, but I don't think it will be the same as it was before."

Piper was confused, "But… what about Sheridan? Where's Chris?"

Leo looked around the room and said, "He's with you."

"No, he was with you. You were supposed to see Sheridan and get the phantasm out of her."

Leo started to panic and concentrated on trying to sense Chris. He said, "I sent him back here as soon as we found out Sheridan was out sick. That was half an hour ago."

Piper's heart rate went up and she gave Leo a look of panic and worry. "You don't think he went after Barbas do you?"

Leo held out his hand to Piper and said urgently, "That's exactly what he did, and he's found him. Come on."

Piper put her hand in his, and they both orbed into a bathroom in the underworld. Barbas was standing over Chris. Chris had his hands on his throat, and his eyes rolled back in his head just as they arrived. Piper channeled all her rage at seeing Chris hurt, and flicked both her hands at Barbas. Barbas lost his control over Chris' mind as he felt pain shooting through him from the large gaping wound Piper had just put in his back. Barbas orbed away as quickly as possible, but Piper was able to give him one more wound on his upper right arm before he got away.

As soon as Barbas was out of the room, Chris collapsed on the floor and took some gasping breaths of air. Leo rushed over to Chris' side and knelt on the floor next to him. Chris looked up at Leo with confusion and said, "Dad?" before passing out.

Leo felt the word more then he heard it. His emotions were running high, as he held his hands above Chris' body to check for injuries. Piper kneeled down on the floor on the other side of Chris. Leo looked at Piper and said, "He's alive, but seriously wounded."

Piper heard someone at the door. The bartender opened the door and said, "If you and Shorb can't keep the noise down in……"

He stopped short when he saw what was going on, and called out to the demons in the other room, "Witches!"

Leo told Piper, "Touch Chris, and Sheridan too if you can."

Piper could see Sheridan lying on the floor about a foot away. She was just able to touch both Chris and Sheridan at the same time before Leo orbed the four of them back to magic school. The second they were gone, a fireball landed in the middle of the bathroom floor. Some of the demons growled in disappointment that the witches had gotten away.

As soon as Leo saw that all four of them had made it to magic school he held his hands over Chris to sense exactly where his injuries were. He said to Piper, "Check Sheridan."

Piper checked for a pulse and breathing. She said, "Her vitals seem normal, and she has some white powder on her forehead."

Leo nodded and said, "Chris has a stab wound in his back."

Chris had been lying on his back, and Leo turned him to his side. He held his hand over the wound, and some blue light came out of Leo's hand for the next few minutes while he healed Chris. Once it was fully healed Leo ran his hands over Chris a second time and said, "I can't sense any other injuries, but he's not waking up."

Piper kneeled down next to Chris and put a hand on his forehead. She said, "Chris honey, can you hear me?"

She got no response. She looked at Leo and said, "Maybe it's a residual effect from the fear? Maybe his body needs some time to sleep and recover?"

Leo said, "We'll give him a couple of hours, and if he's not awake by then, we'll have to try something else."

Piper realized they were already in her apartment at magic school and said, "The floor doesn't look very comfortable. Why don't you orb Chris into my bed, and Sheridan can go on the couch."

Leo waved his hand twice, to orb them both. Leo went to Sheridan and held a hand over her. He said, "The phantasm is out, and Chris has already made her forget what she saw. We shouldn't let her wake up here though. I'll orb her to a hospital a few towns away. When she wakes up she won't know how she got there, and she'll have lost a few days of memory."

Piper nodded and said, "I'll sit with Chris until you get back."

* * *

Chris opened his eyes and looked around the room confused. He thought, 'Where am I?…… Mom's bedroom at magic school? How did I get here?'

He sat up and looked around, trying to remember. Once he remembered, he reached around to find the wound in his back, but there was nothing there. Then he had a fleeting memory of Leo being there. Chris wondered how long he had been out, and where everyone was. Then he heard voices coming from the living room.

****************

Leo said, "She's awake now, and complaining loudly about being held overnight in the hospital for observation. She has a couple of cops taking her statement, but there's not much to take down, because she doesn't remember anything. Chris did a good job with the white powder. He's probably used it before, because it's difficult to know exactly how much to use."

Phoebe said, "So magic is protected, but what about Darryl?"

Leo said, "I called him from a pay phone and told him Sheridan didn't remember anything. He thinks the charges on him should be dropped in a day or two at the most."

Paige asked, "What about Barbas?"

Leo said, "I'm still monitoring Darryl to make sure he's calm. If he has any sudden attacks of fear, I'll know."

Piper said, "Do you think Barbas will go after Darryl?"

Leo said, "I'm not really sure."

They heard a knock on the door to Piper's apartment. Leo answered it and saw Gideon standing there with Wyatt in his arms. Gideon said, "It's lunch time at the daycare, and they told me Piper usually picks him up before then, so I thought I would check on you."

Leo took Wyatt from Gideon and said to Wyatt, "Hey buddy. Did you have a good time playing this morning?"

Wyatt gave him a smile. Leo looked over at Gideon and said, "Come on in. Thanks for bringing Wyatt home."

"Of course, any time."

Phoebe said, "Hey Gideon, did you hear about Barbas?"

Gideon came in and sat on the couch. He said, "Yes, Piper informed me of the situation this morning. What has happened since we last talked?"

Piper said, "Sheridan is back to normal with some slight memory loss. All the evidence the police had on Darryl has been eliminated. Barbas is injured, and he knows that we know he's back. The three of us will make a vanquish for him tonight, and we'll all carry some of it with us until we know he's gone. The vanquish won't actually send him back to hell unless the three of us are there to do a spell on him at the same time, but it should hurt him and make him stop whatever he's doing at the time."

Gideon nodded and said, "Good. I think that's the best you can do."

Phoebe asked, "Do you think Barbas will still try to get to Darryl?"

Gideon thought about it for a few seconds. Then he shook his head and said, "I doubt it. Now that he's injured and he knows you are aware of his presence, he'll stay hidden for a while. He doesn't want to go back to hell, and he knows if he goes up against you three he'll end up back there. I doubt you'll hear from him again for quite some time."

Chris spoke up from the doorway of Piper's bedroom, "We should go after him now, while he's still weak and vanquish his ass. We can't give him time to build his powers back up and make new alliances in the underworld."

Everyone had turned to see Chris as soon as he started talking. Leo was the first to react. He set Wyatt down, walked over to Chris, and pulled him into a hug. Wyatt walked over to Phoebe and sat in her lap. Chris was a little uncomfortable with Leo's hug since everyone was staring at them. He didn't hug back, but he didn't try to get away either. A few seconds later Leo held his hands over Chris' chest, and checked for injuries again. Chris saw what he was doing and said, "I'm fine Leo. Thanks for healing me earlier."

Leo's eyes snapped up to meet Chris' eyes. Chris took a small step back at the amount of anger in that look. Piper had gotten up and was now beside Leo. She put her hands on her hips and said, "What were you thinking going after Barbas alone young man?!"

Chris took another small step back and said, "Well…. I….. Um……"

Leo turned back to the rest of the room and said, "If you could all excuse us, I think Piper and I would like to speak with Chris in private."

Chris' eyes got a little wider at that pronouncement. He felt like orbing away, but he knew there was no where he could go that Leo couldn't follow. He also knew that Leo would take his orbing away again if it came down to that.

Phoebe didn't need her empathy or her premonitions to know that the impending confrontation was going to be unpleasant. She said, "I should really head back to the office, since I was late to work in the first place."

Paige made a show of looking at the time and said, "Has it been half an hour already? Yeah, I have to get back too."

Phoebe said, "I'm glad you're not hurt Chris. See you tonight."

Paige gave him a sympathetic look and said, "Same goes for me."

Phoebe gave Wyatt a kiss on the head, put him down, and held out her hand for Paige, and Paige orbed them both away. Gideon stood and said, "Yes… well… I suppose I should get back to work too."

Leo said, "Thanks for bringing Wyatt back Gideon, and as always your opinions are both welcome and respected."

Gideon gave him a little nod and made a hasty retreat. Wyatt toddled over to Piper and put his arms up to be picked up. Piper picked him up and then glared at Chris. "You'd better start explaining mister. I want to know what you did from the time you left your dad at the police station until we showed up just in time to keep Barbas from killing you."

Chris decided he needed to get his parents to see his side of things pretty quickly since they both seemed a bit angrier then he had been expecting. He looked back and forth between them and said, "Leo suggested that I come back here and tell you what was going on, but I already knew the best way to find Sheridan and Barbas, so I……"

Leo interrupted, "What do you mean I suggested you go back? I told you to go back and you agreed."

Chris shook his head, "No you said I _should_ go back and tell mom, and I agreed with you that I _should_."

Leo shook his head, "You know very well that it wasn't a suggestion Chris."

Chris lied, "I thought it was."

Leo grabbed Chris' arm and turned him to the side. He gave him four hard swats and said, "Don't lie, you're in enough trouble already."

Chris didn't like where this was headed. He pulled his arm away from Leo, and Leo let him. Chris said, "Okay fine Leo, you're right I knew what you meant, but last time I checked, I was an adult and working on my own as a whitelighter, which means I don't have to follow any orders you might give me."

Leo crossed his arms. "Okay Chris, if you want to look at it that way, then I'm an Elder which makes me your boss, and you do have to follow my orders. And if you don't follow my directions, I can take you up to the council of Elders, and we can see if they think you should have your wings clipped permanently."

Chris was shaking his head no. Leo said, "So now you don't want to look at it that way anymore?"

Chris looked away. "No."

"Then we'll look at it as a family. Like it or not, I am your father, and I'm always going to have your best interest in mind when I tell you to do something. I also have more experience in fighting demons then you. I've been helping witches fight demons for over sixty years now, so I know my demons pretty well. I told you Barbas was dangerous, and I told you not to go after him. You claimed to understand me at the time, so what happened between then and now?"

"I didn't technically go after Barbas, I was looking for Sheridan."

"But you knew Barbas would be close by."

Chris couldn't deny that. Instead he said, "I've been up against Barbas before. One time when I pissed Wyatt off, he sent Barbas after me to teach me a lesson. But when Barbas looked at my worst fears he saw that I was already living them, and there was nothing else he could show me. He tried beating me up physically because no one wants to fail in a mission Wyatt gives, but I send him home to Wyatt half broken. I probably could have killed him, but Shorb would have just resurrected him. So I truly believed that Barbas couldn't hurt me."

Leo shook his head. "It doesn't matter if _you _thought Barbas could hurt you, because _I _told you he could."

Chris tried not to sound whiny as he said, "But I wasn't after Barbas."

Piper could see that argument wasn't going anywhere and said, "Okay so you weren't after Barbas, you were after Sheridan. How did you find her?"

"As soon as I left the police station, I went home and did a spell to make myself look like Shorb. Then I went to the underworld, went to the same places he would go, and made a scene while making disparaging remarks about Barbas. I knew Barbas would be having Shorb watched, so I knew this would attract his attention, but probably wouldn't be enough to send him running himself. He would send one of his flunkies. And sure enough a little while later Sheridan showed up. I got her alone in the bathroom and took the phantasm out. I put the white powder on her, did the spell, and I was about to orb her back here when Barbas just showed up."

Leo said, "But if he hadn't shown up, you wouldn't have gone after him by yourself?"

Chris shook his head no. Chris told himself it wasn't really a lie, but he couldn't keep eye contact as he shook his head. He wouldn't have gone after Barbas right then, because he had to take care of Sheridan. He didn't think Leo needed to know that he had planned to go after Barbas later that night when everyone was asleep.

Leo shook his head not believing Chris. He asked, "Barbas showed you something that scared you. What was it?"

Chris muttered to the floor, "Going back to the same future I left. Failing to keep Wyatt from turning evil."

Piper took the couple of steps that separated them and pulled Chris into a one armed hug with Wyatt still in her other arm. She said, "It's already changed Chris, some bad things may still happen in your future, but it won't be exactly the same. It can't be now that we all know about Wyatt and are going to try and stop it."

Wyatt squirmed a little and pushed on both Chris and Piper. He said, "Eee, eee."

Piper let go of Chris and said to Wyatt, "I know you're hungry sweetie. We'll go get something to eat in just a few seconds."

Leo sighed, turned to Piper, and said, "Go ahead and get Wyatt some lunch down at the cafeteria, and if you could bring some back for me and Chris when you're done, that would be nice. I'm afraid I'm going to have to spank Chris."

Piper gave him a sad look but nodded in agreement.

Chris took a big step back and his voice was slightly higher then usual when he said, "What?! No! Look L… Dad, I know that you're not very happy with me right now, but I don't think this calls for a…. for that. I didn't lie, and I didn't manipulate anyone. I didn't steal anything. I didn't intentionally put anyone in danger. You're over reacting. Why don't we all go down and have some lunch together, and you can have some time to think about it."

Leo was a little surprised at the 'Dad' but knew it was more manipulation then anything else. He shook his head no. "I'm sorry Chris, but both your mother and I told you not to go after Barbas alone."

Leo saw Chris start to protest, and he held up a hand to stop him. "I know, you already told me you weren't going after him, but you knew there was a strong possibility you would run into him by going after Sheridan. You'd be dead if we had shown up a few minutes later, so don't tell me you didn't intentionally put yourself in danger. I'm not going to change my mind about this."

Chris crossed his arms and said with a sneer and false bravery, "So basically you're going to punish me for saving Darryl and Sheridan, protecting magic, and hurting one of our worst enemies. I took some calculated risks with _my_ life, but in the end they paid off. I'm an adult _Dad_, and you need to back off. This whole father act you've been doing to try and make up for the mistakes you're going to make in the future is getting old."

Leo looked over at Piper and Wyatt. Piper understood the look, and started walking towards the front door. She said, "We'll bring you both back some lunch."

Chris yelled after her, "Fine! Take his side. Like you've never put yourself in danger to protect others!"

Piper paused with her hand on the door. She turned around to face him and said, "You're right Chris, I have put myself in danger before, but not when there were other options available, and certainly not behind my family's back."

She went out and closed the door behind her and Wyatt. Once they were gone Leo reached for Chris' arm, but Chris orbed. Leo stood there for a second, too surprised to react. Leo didn't understand what Chris thought he was doing. He sensed him on top of the Golden Gate Bridge, and he orbed after him.

Chris had panicked, and orbed before really thinking much about it. Leo showed up on the bridge a second later and said with irritation, "What are you doing?"

Chris shook his head not knowing and orbed to the manor. Leo took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down before following Chris this time. Four minutes later he followed Chris home and found him pacing around the kitchen. Leo could have easily taken Chris' orbing away, but he didn't. He could tell that the time he had taken to calm himself down had given Chris a chance to think about what he was doing, and to realize how futile it was.

Leo stayed where he was and asked, "Are you afraid of me Chris?"

A few emotions flickered across his face, and then Chris looked Leo in the eyes and said, "No."

"Then stop running from me. You know I can follow you, and you know I can take your orbing away. You're just delaying the inevitable."

Leo walked over to the kitchen table and pulled one of the chairs away from it. He put it in the middle of the kitchen floor and sat down. He looked over at a wide-eyed Chris and said, "I'm done chasing you, come here."

Chris shook his head no. Leo leaned forward, put his elbows on his knees, and laced his fingers together. He said, "Since the first day I found out I was your father, I've seen you differently. I don't see you as a fellow Whitelighter, I don't see you as the person responsible for advising and helping the sisters, and I don't see you as a young adult who's finding his way in the world. I only can see you as my son. _My_ son Chris. I love you, and I can't just turn that off. Maybe you're right, maybe I can't see you as an adult, because in my time you're not even born yet. Maybe I am being ridiculously overprotective. Maybe after hearing about all the things that happen to you in the future I'm overcompensating. But I can't stop, and frankly I don't even want to."

"I want you to feel like you're loved, because you are. I want you to feel like you're a part of the family, because you are. I want to make up for all the times I wasn't there for you, by being around more then you need me to be. I could write you a hundred letters telling you I loved you, I could give you a hundred lectures telling you to stay out of dangerous situations, but I doubt that would teach you even half of what this spanking is going to. This is going to be an immediate, up close and personal lesson about not putting yourself in danger simply because I told you not to, and because I love you too much to sit back and do nothing about it when you don't listen to me."

As Chris listened to Leo's speech he found himself closer and closer to tears, and before it was over, tears had spilled down his face. He couldn't say which emotion had caused them. Joy at hearing his father cared and loved him. Relief upon hearing that his father saw he was being overprotective, and a strange kind of trepidation mixed with relief upon hearing that he wasn't going to stop being that way. Acceptance that his place in the family was even more secure in this time then it was in his own. And finally shame at having gone behind his father's back to get to Sheridan and Barbas.

Leo saw the tears and said quietly, "So come here."

Chris found himself moving towards Leo even while his head was shaking no. Once Chris was at his side, Leo said, "Good. Thank you. Now drop your pants."

Chris wiped at his face with the back of his hand, and sniffed loudly before reaching down and unbuttoning and unzipping his khaki pants. They fell to the floor as soon as he let go. Leo reached up and took Chris' hand and helped guide him over his lap. Chris held himself up with both hands on the floor on one side, and his feet touched the floor on the other. There was no getting comfortable in this position, so he just stayed where he was, ridged, tense, anxious, and wishing he were somewhere else.

Leo was pleased with the attitude change, and hoped they had had some kind of breakthrough in their relationship. He knew Chris hated every second of this, and didn't want to draw it out any longer then necessary. He put his arm around Chris' waist, pulled him up tight against his stomach, and brought his hand down in the center of Chris' butt on top of his boxers. Chris let out a little grunt at the first swat, but then tried to stay quiet.

Leo was spanking with deliberately slow and heavy swats, and Chris could feel his whole body jarring with each one. He wasn't able to take very many without squirming. By the time Leo got to twenty, little noises of pain were escaping from Chris' throat. Leo stopped to pull the boxers down.

As soon as Chris felt Leo's fingers in the waistband of his boxers he decided he had had enough. "No Dad! I'm sorry, okay?"

Leo thought that was a much more sincere 'Dad', which made him happy, even though the situation was unpleasant. But it didn't stop him from pulling the boxers all the way down to Chris' knees and saying, "Sorry for what?"

Chris hung his head and said, "I'm sorry I went behind your back to get Sheridan."

Leo made a non committal sound in his throat and started spanking again. He put a little less force behind the swats, but went at a much faster pace. Chris yelled out a loud, "Nooooooo!" and started struggling to get up.

For the next few seconds Leo had to work on keeping Chris in place while also keeping up the rapid-fire swats. Chris was amazed at the immediate intensity of the pain. He had started out struggling in protest of the spanking continuing, but soon his struggles were less deliberate and more in reaction to the pain. Scattered thoughts ran through Chris' mind. 'I can't believe I walked over to him for this! Damn it hurts. He has to be done soon, it fucking hurts! If he doesn't stop soon I'm gonna….. Shit, I'm gonna cry.'

Chris yelled out, "I said I was sorry! What more do you want?!"

Leo couldn't get rid of the image of Chris laying on the bathroom floor close to death with Barbas standing over him. He kept spanking and said, "I want to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"It won't! I swear it won't Dad! Leo, please! Please stop!"

Chris knew he couldn't take anymore without crying, and his squirming and kicking wasn't getting him away from the pain, so he put his hand back to cover as much of his butt as he could reach. Leo used his right hand to keep spanking, but moved the swats to Chris' upper thighs. Then at the same time he used his left hand to capture Chris' wrist, and pulled the hand away that was coving Chris' butt. Once the hand was out of the way, Leo went back to spanking Chris on his butt, which was a deep and painful looking red.

When Chris felt the smacks on his thighs his whole body jerked and the tears started, and then when the swats went back to his rear, he gave up on trying to hold the tears back. Chris' struggles all but stopped as all of his energy was put into crying. Leo both heard and saw that Chris was crying, and gave him a few more swats before stopping all together.

Once it was done, Leo let go of Chris' wrist, and rubbed his back for a second to let Chris catch his breath. Chris kept one hand on the floor and used the other to cover his face while he cried. Leo leaned over and pulled Chris' boxers back up. After they were in place, Leo put a hand on Chris' arm and pulled on him to stand up. Chris got up immediately, and once he was on his feet, he bent down to grab his pants from around his ankles and put them back on.

Leo stood as well, and put the chair away. He went back to Chris, who was wiping at his face with his hands and trying to stop crying, and pulled him into a crushing hug. Leo said, "When I came back from the police station and realized you were gone….. I knew what you had done before I even tried to sense you, and I was scared. Scared that you'd be dead before we could get to you, and we almost didn't get to you in time."

Leo put his hands on Chris' shoulders and pushed him away slightly so he could look into his eyes. He said, "The next time I tell you not to do something because it's too dangerous, you'd better listen to me. Do you hear me?"

Chris almost had his crying under control before Leo started talking, but now he felt fresh tears sliding down his face. He nodded that he understood and was able to get out, "I'm sorry."

Leo pulled him back into a hug and said, "I know, and I forgive you."

After a few more seconds Leo said, "It's gonna be okay Chris. I know you were trying to do the right thing, but you went about it the wrong way. We could have carried out the exact same plan together. I could have gone with you to get Sheridan while staying out of sight like usual. Then I could have been down there with you when Barbas attacked, and he wouldn't have been able to get to your mind with both of us working against him."

Leo kept on holding Chris, and once his crying was a little more under control Chris said, "But I didn't think you would let me do it, so I had to try it myself."

Leo let him go again and put a hand on the side of his face. "No you didn't. If I had said no, then we would have come up with a different plan. You have to learn to work as part of a team. You're not on your own anymore."

Chris thought about that for a few seconds, and the words 'Not on your own anymore.' circled around his head. Chris gave Leo a little nod to show that had heard him. Leo said, "We need to get back to Piper's apartment. She should be back with some lunch for us any minute."

Chris and Leo orbed together. Once there, Leo said, "Why don't you go clean up Chris."

Chris walked into the bathroom and washed his face. He looked at himself in the mirror and asked, "Do you even know how to not be alone?"

Chris could remember having his whole family together, but even then he was somewhat of an outsider, because he was the only one who had known Wyatt was evil. He remembered being with his grandfather from age fourteen until eighteen, and that was the closest thing he could come to. He shook his head and said, "Probably about as well as you know how to stay out of trouble with your parents."

Chris dried off his face and hands, and then rubbed at his butt for a few long minutes before going out. The sharp sting was starting to dissipate, but he was left with a sore burning sensation, that was awful.

He walked out of the bathroom and found that Piper had just arrived. She had a sleeping Wyatt in one arm, and a sack filled with their lunch in the other. Leo and Chris both rushed to unburden her. Leo took Wyatt and put him down in his crib for a nap, and Chris got the sack of food and started to put things out on the coffee table. As he was doing that Piper put a hand on his shoulder. She said, "Chris?"

He made eye contact for a second and looked away embarrassed and said, "Yeah Mom?"

"How are you doing?"

Chris shrugged. He didn't want to get emotional again, so he kept getting stuff out of the bag and said, "I'll live."

Piper had seen his red rimmed eyes, and knew he had been crying. She put a hand on his arm to stop his movements. Once he stopped she hugged him and said, "I'm glad to hear it, because that was kind of the point of the whole thing now wasn't it."

Chris hugged back, but also rolled his eyes. "I know. I get it, and I'm sorry okay?"

Piper let go and gave him a look. She said, "You don't sound very sorry."

Chris looked down at the table and said, "I am, but….."

Piper rubbed his arm to let him know she was listening. "But what?"

"But the whole situation frustrates me too. It hurt, and it's really hard to feel like an adult when you guys keep busting my ass for doing my job, just because I don't do it the way you think it should be done. I did save Sheridan from the phantasm. I did protect magic by making her forget. I did help Darryl get clear of the charges. But all you guys can see is that I got hurt doing it."

Piper nodded in sympathy and said, "You're right Chris, it's really hard for both me and Leo to see past you getting hurt. And you're right that in a lot of ways you saved the day with Darryl and Sheridan. But maybe if you'd put a little more effort into finding ways to work with us instead of behind us or around us, you would find that we would all be less frustrated."

He gave her a nod while thinking about what she said. Leo came out and said, "What's for lunch?"

Chris said, "Sandwiches and chips."

Leo looked at Piper and said, "Thanks for bringing us lunch."

"Any time. Can I sit with you guys?"

Chris said, "Go ahead, I'll sit down here." and got down on his knees in front of the coffee table leaving a spot for Piper to sit on the couch.

Both Piper and Leo pretended not to remember that all three of them had fit on the couch plenty of times before. Chris pulled the last of the stuff out of the bag and as he handed a napkin to Leo he said, "Here Dad."

Leo stared at Chris for a few seconds not sure if he had heard him correctly or not, because it had seemed so casual. Leo looked over at Piper who was smiling at him with love and happiness. Chris hadn't really thought about it before saying it, but once he saw Leo's reaction he realized what he had said. He waited a few seconds and then said with impatience, "Well do you want it or not?"

Leo took the napkin and said, "Thanks son." hoping that Chris understood the underlying message.

Chris did, but didn't want to admit it, so instead he said, "So when are we all going to go after Barbas? Now that he's hurt is the best time you know."

Piper shook her head, and said, "Can we please give it a rest during lunch?"

Chris nodded and started eating.

The rest of the afternoon Chris helped Piper make a vanquish for Barbas at the manor, that would be completed once Paige and Phoebe came home to help do the spell over it. But Chris was worn out, and fell asleep on the couch before either one of his aunts came home from work. Leo orbed Chris to bed and spent most of his night playing with Wyatt while Piper told her sisters an abbreviated version of what had happened.

*************

The next morning at breakfast, things were fairly quiet. Both Paige and Phoebe congratulated Chris on getting Sheridan to safety, and it made him feel a little better, even though he wasn't sitting comfortably. When they were almost done eating there was a knock on the door. Chris jumped out of his seat and said, "I'll get it."

Phoebe snickered and muttered, 'Yeah, I'll bet."

Chris glared at her for laughing at him and said, "Why don't you just tell us who it is Aunt Phoebe. How about a premonition?"

She lost her smile and glared at him. Leo sighed and said, "It's too early for this guys, give it a rest."

Leo got up and got the door. It was Darryl. Leo smiled and gave Darryl a hug as he said, "I take it I'm looking at a free man."

Darryl didn't smile as Leo let him go. He gave him a nod and said, "I have a message for you. All of you."

Paige and Phoebe had come over to the door along with Chris. Darryl said, "I won't help you anymore."

Phoebe said, "Darryl…."

Darryl shook his head. "No Phoebe. This has been a wake up call for me. From this day on it's by the book. I've promised Sheila, and myself. I know that you are good people, and I know that you are trying to do what's right, and that's why I came in person to tell you. The next time I find out one of you has done something less then legal, I won't just look the other way. The next time you call me for help…. Well just don't. I have to focus on my life right now. I'm already under investigation for the things that have happened over the past few years, and I'm not going to make it worse."

He looked at each of them and said, "You have fair warning."

Darryl turned to leave and Leo called after him, "Darryl."

But Darryl didn't turn around. Leo closed the door and looked at everyone. He said, "That's not good."

Leo and Chris went to magic school to tell Piper the news about Darryl as soon as breakfast was over. They found her talking to Gideon about her favorite subject Wyatt and how smart and powerful he was. Once they had told her, she didn't really feel like talking anymore, and took Wyatt with her to her room where she planned to call Sheila to try and repair the damage.

Once Piper was gone, Chris brought up Barbas again to Gideon. He said, "Please tell my dad that you agree with me Gideon. We should go after Barbas now while he's hurt, and before he has time to make alliances in the underworld."

Gideon shook his head. "Sorry Chris, but I don't agree. He's not a threat right now, and there's no reason to go putting yourselves in danger by going after him."

Leo gave Chris a look and Chris sighed and said, "Okay, fine."

Leo nodded once and said, "Come on Chris, let's go find someone else to go after today."

Leo and Chris orbed home to the manor. As soon as Gideon was alone Barbas showed up behind him. Gideon looked startled and said, "What are you doing here? This is a sacred place of good magic."

Barbas held up his hand to Gideon's face and then looked at his palm. He said, "I was wondering why you were defending me, but I see it now. Don't worry. I won't tell them you're the one who's really after Wyatt and turns him evil. I agree with you in fact. Make him evil or kill the little monster, just get him out of everyone's way. Let me know if you need help. I have a debt to repay."

Barbas orbed away, and Gideon sighed with relief.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: This has spoilers for the episodes 'Long Day's Journey', and 'Witch Wars'. Written 3/08.

Home Again Chapter 4

_Chris was in the attic looking up a demon in the book of shadows when suddenly a portal opened up on the wall. Chris took a few steps back and watched with growing horror as Wyatt and four of his demon followers walked trough the portal. Before Chris could get over the shock of seeing his brother, Wyatt put up his hand and Chris' airway was cut off. Chris held his hand up to his throat trying to breathe while Wyatt laughed and said, "Did you really think I wouldn't find a way to get back to you little brother? I mean maybe if you'd been quick about it, but you've been in the past for over a year now with nothing to show for your efforts."_

_Wyatt shook his head as Chris fell to his knees with dizziness. Wyatt said, "You know I've never thought much of your magical abilities. You're a mediocre witch at best. But you're pretty good at manipulation, so I actually expected you to be more of a threat. My mistake."_

Chris woke up sweating and sucking in air. He sat up in bed and looked around the room wildly for a few seconds and put a hand up to his throat but found it felt normal. Once he realized it had been a nightmare he was able to calm himself down pretty fast. He took some deep breaths and said to himself, "Just a nightmare. Wyatt hasn't found a way back here."

Chris looked at the clock, which read three AM. He sighed, got out of bed, and headed to the bathroom to wash his face and get a drink of water. Once he had a drink, he looked at himself in the mirror and thought, 'The nightmares are getting worse the closer it gets. Only one month left. Wyatt's right, I've been here for a year and have nothing to show for it other then a demon body count. I'm still no closer to finding out what happened to Wyatt. Or what will happen to him.'

Chris splashed some cold water on his face and dried it off. He headed back to bed and lay down, but couldn't go back to sleep. Instead he found his mind wandering. Leo had found out he was Chris' father two months ago, and since then Chris had been forced to modify his usual behavior to match Leo's guidelines or suffer the consequences if he didn't. Chris was pleased that he hadn't been in trouble for over a month, but then had to correct that. A couple of weeks ago he had kind of been in trouble, it just hadn't been enough to get spanked for.

* * *

Two weeks ago

Chris was busy tracking a demon in the underworld, when he heard Phoebe call his name. He wanted to ignore it, knowing that if he lost sight of this demon he would be almost impossible to find again, but also knowing that ignoring the call wouldn't go over well with his aunts or his parents. It had been a month and a half since the Spider Demon incident, and a month and a half of Leo being with Chris almost every minute of the day. Chris had finally convinced Leo to let him do some jobs on his own just three days ago, and he really didn't want that to change, so he sighed and orbed home.

He found Paige, Phoebe, and Leo all in the attic together. He said, "Yeah?"

Phoebe handed over a metal throwing star and said, "You know the demon we've been trying to find?"

"The one who's been killing other demons?"

Phoebe nodded, "We took this from a couple of lower level demons, and we are eighty percent sure they were working for him. We thought maybe you could find out who it belonged to so we can find out who they were working for."

Chris looked at the star and nodded. "Sure I'll tell you what I find out."

Chris started to orb, but stopped when Leo said, "Chris."

"Yeah?"

"No going after the demon, just gathering information."

Chris gave his father a look of annoyance and said with a good dose of attitude, "Yeah Leo, I got it. Can I go?"

Leo didn't look pleased but nodded. Chris orbed. Phoebe turned to Leo and said with a smile, "Ever notice he calls you Leo when he's irritated, but he calls you Dad when he's hurt or needs something?"

Leo was still looking at the spot Chris had left and said, "It's hard to miss."

Phoebe could tell it was more of a sensitive topic then she had realized and looked over at Paige. She said, "You look tired sweetie, why don't you rest for a while. Leo, Chris and I can handle it."

Paige shook her head, "No, I shouldn't……"

Phoebe put a hand on her younger sister's shoulder and gently pushed her towards the door as she said, "With Piper at magic school and me without my powers, you've been doing all the hard work for over a month now. Go lie down for a while. I'll let you know if something comes up."

Paige finally nodded and said, "Okay."

Paige went to her room, shut the door behind her, and looked around guiltily for a few seconds. Then she set up some candles, did a spell, and her very own Mr. Right appeared in front of her. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. He held out his hand, and when she put her hand in his he led her to the bed.

*******

Chris orbed back into the attic half an hour after he left. He found Leo and Phoebe still working on theories as to who the mystery demon was. Leo asked Chris, "Did you find something?"

"The star belonged to a group of demon assassins who call themselves 'The Demon Atrix'. They aren't all that good at their jobs, but they will work for anyone who has enough money."

Phoebe said, "Well I guess that's not very helpful then."

Chris shook his head, "That's not all. I found out that they've recently been turning down jobs. No one is sure who they're working for now, but they're all working for one demon, and the rumor is that they have vanquishing potions for the Charmed Ones."

Phoebe shook her head and said, "What? That doesn't make any sense at all. We're not demons, we can't be vanquished."

Leo said, "Well that's not entirely true Phoebe. Witches can be sent to the same hell as the demons we vanquish. The difference is that it's not your body that goes there, just your soul. Demons don't have souls, so their bodies go there when we vanquish them."

Phoebe looked at Leo and said, "So we would be dead then?"

Leo nodded. Phoebe turned to Chris and said, "Okay, let's not let that happen."

Chris said, "The only way it could be possible is if there was a demon close to us. They would need personal knowledge about each of you, and they would have to have something of yours to make the potion with. I just don't see how it could be true."

Leo said, "Or someone close enough to read our minds."

Chris looked at Phoebe and said, "Maybe you and Paige should go to magic school with mom while Leo and I find out who's doing this."

Phoebe shook her head, "No way. Leo, you go tell Piper what's going on, and have her stay there. Chris, you and I are gonna wake up Paige so the three of us can go to the underworld and find out what's going on."

Chris looked at Leo to see if he was okay with the plan. Leo nodded and said, "You three be careful." before orbing to Piper.

**************

Paige slowly woke up from her nap, and looked into Mr. Right's face. She smiled, "Morning."

"Afternoon really, and you look much more rested now then you did two days ago."

Paige sat up and sighed, "I guess I should get back to work."

Mr. Right waved his hand and a bed tray with a variety of lunch items on it appeared. He said, "First you eat. If you don't take care of yourself, you won't be any good for your sisters."

Paige gave him a look. "You can do magic?"

"I can do everything you want me to do. You made me to fill your every neglected need Paige, and you gave me all the same memories you have so that I know instinctually what you need, even when you aren't willing to admit it to yourself. And right now you need someone to make sure you don't run yourself into the ground from lack of sleep and food."

Paige wasn't sure she liked all of that, but her stomach growled in agreement. Mr. Right smiled at the noise, and Paige reluctantly said, "I guess I should eat."

Mr. Right said, "Good."

Paige held up half of a sandwich said, "You want some?"

He sat on the bed next to her and shook his head; "I don't need to eat. I'm not real. But I can eat if you'd like company."

Paige nodded so he took the sandwich from her and took a bite.

When they were almost done eating there was a knock on her door. Paige gestured for Mr. Right to get down behind the bed and he took the tray with him. Once he was out of sight Paige said, "Yeah?"

Phoebe opened the door a crack and said, "Sorry to wake you up, but Chris and I could use your help."

"I'll be there in a second."

Once Phoebe left, Mr. Right stood up and gave Paige a kiss. He said, "I'll be waiting for you."

******

Chris, Phoebe, and Paige spent the next half an hour in the underworld, finding the hideout for the Demon Atrix's. They were able to hid behind a large bolder and see the demons coming and going. After ten minutes of watching Chris said, "We haven't seen the leader yet, but I don't think we can risk going in there until we know more about them, and get some kind of vanquish."

Phoebe said, "I agree, but how can we get more information if we don't go in there."

Chris looked at the demons that were all petite blondes dressed in black. He smiled at her and said, "Well I have an idea, but I don't know if you'll like it."

"Let's hear it."

"You go in undercover as one of them."

Phoebe looked insulted; "I don't look anything like those demons."

"Put on a blond wig and some tight fitting black clothes and you will."

Phoebe glared at him and then back at one of the demons that just came out. Paige smiled and said, "He does have a point Phoebe. You would fit in. You're tiny, pretty, and when you were a genie I thought you looked good as a blond."

Phoebe directed her glare at Paige and said, "What about you?"

Paige said, "I'm a lot taller then all of the demons we've seen. That might be coincidence, or it might be that they are just smaller then average."

Phoebe crossed her arms, "Are you calling me short?"

Paige smiled, "If the shoe fits."

Chris held up his hands and said, "No time to argue. You two go get Phoebe something that will let her blend while I keep an eye out."

Paige took Phoebe's hand and orbed them back to the manor. Chris watched for another three minutes, and saw a dark haired male come out of the entrance with a Demon Atrix holding onto his arm. She said, "Why a Porsche?"

"Because they are her favorite."

"But you'll be in the underworld."

"Not for long."

They orbed together. Chris looked at the spot they left for a few seconds thinking it was odd to see a demon who orbed with blue lights. Usually demons orbed with black specks or they shimmered in and out. He muttered to himself, "A witch gone bad?"

He orbed after them, and hid behind some bushes to see the two of them go to a car dealership to buy a car. The male got into a Porsche with the sales person looking on and after turning it on, the male said, "I'll take it."

The sales person babbled on about paperwork, and the Demon Atrix who was standing by the car said, "No, we'll just take it."

The Demon Atrix put up her hand and shoved the guy ten feet through the air. The male yelled out, "No!"

Then he waved his arm and said, "Porsche."

One of the Porsche's that was sitting in the lot moved so that the sales man landed in the back seat and wouldn't get hurt. The male turned to the Demon Atrix and said, "How many times do I have to tell you we don't kill innocents?!"

The Demon Atrix didn't look very repentant but said she was sorry anyway.

Chris decided to come out of hiding. He walked up to the two of them and said, "A demon not hurting innocents? There's a new one."

The male looked at Chris and said with surprise and some anger, "You!"

A throwing star appeared in the male's hand and before Chris could react the male tossed it. But just as Chris was going to orb to avoid it, he realized it hadn't been thrown at him. He heard the Demon Atrix who was standing behind him yell as she burst into flames. Chris looked back at the male with confusion, and the male said, "Are you supposed to be going after me on your own?"

Chris was completely confused by this. "What??!"

"She could have hurt you! Get your ass home."

Chris couldn't understand what was going on. The male put the car in gear and drove off. Chris looked around, picked up the throwing star that was on the ground where the Demon Atrix used to be, and then got in the Porsche that was closest to him. The key wasn't in it, but Chris waved his hand and turned it on magically. He sped off after the male. They went a few blocks breaking speed limits until the male saw Chris in his rear view mirror. The male cursed, pulled the Porsche to a stop, and orbed away. Chris was pulling over too, but then saw flashing lights in his rear view mirror. He said, "Great."

A few seconds later as the cop was getting out of his car, the salesman from the car dealership came running down the street out of breath and said, "Stop him! He's trying to steal the car!"

Chris shook his head and said, "Unbelievable."

The cop quickly put Chris under arrest, and became even more suspicious when he discovered that Chris had zero ID. Chris kept his mouth shut, and hoped that Darryl was working at the station today.

***********

It didn't take long for Phoebe and Paige to make Phoebe look like one of the Demon Atrix, but when they orbed back to the underworld and didn't see Chris, they were confused. They waited for a few minutes and then orbed back home. They scryed for Chris, and found him downtown. Paige said, "What the hell is he doing downtown?"

Phoebe looked closely at the map and said, "Isn't that the jail?"

Paige said, "Maybe he's talking to Darryl about something."

"That must be it. Let's wait for him."

They waited for half an hour and then Phoebe said, "Maybe there's something wrong."

Suddenly Chris orbed in. Phoebe said, "There you are, where have you been."

Chris cringed; thinking this wouldn't go over well and said, "In jail?"

Phoebe and Paige both yelled, "What??!!"

Chris held his hands up and said, "Let me explain."

Phoebe and Paige exchanged a look but then let him talk. "I saw what I thought was a male demon with one of the Demon Atrix's, but then when he orbed it was blue, so I think he's a witch. Then I…."

Paige interrupted, "A witch hanging out with demon assassins?"

"Yeah, I know it doesn't seem right, but I followed them out of the underworld and they….."

Phoebe interrupted, "You followed them? You know your dad…."

Chris raised his voice, "Let me finish here!"

Phoebe and Paige exchanged another look, and Phoebe crossed her arms in obvious disapproval of what Chris was telling them. "So I followed them topside and they went to a car dealership of all places. The guy was going to steal a Porsche, and when the dealer went to stop him, the Demon Atrix tried to hurt him, but the guy saved him. I heard him saying that he had told her more than once that they didn't hurt innocents."

Chris could see the surprise in their faces and said, "I know, but that's not even the strangest part, when I confronted him, he….."

Phoebe tossed her hands in the air and said, "You confronted him!!?"

Chris crossed his own arms defensively and said, "He just said he didn't hurt innocents! I thought it would be safe, and as it turns out I was right."

Chris held up the throwing star and said, "Not only did he not hurt me, he actually killed the Demon Atrix saying it was because _she_ might hurt _me_. It was really odd. He seemed to know me."

Paige said, "And how did you get put in jail?"

Chris looked away and mumbled, "Oh yeah. The guy kind of stole a car, and I kind of took one too to chase him. He orbed away at the last minute, but I got caught by the police, and they arrested me for trying to steal a car."

Phoebe called, "Leo!"

Chris shook his head no and said, "We don't need to tell him….."

Leo appeared and said, "Tell me what?"

Chris glared at Phoebe and muttered, "Thanks a lot."

Phoebe crossed her arms again and said, "Tell your dad the story."

Paige took this opportunity to say, "I need to go check on something. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Chris recounted the whole story for Leo who didn't interrupt until the whole story was done. Leo said, "How did you get out of jail?"

Chris said, "I saw Darryl in the hallway and asked him to cover for me."

Leo nodded and said, "You shouldn't have gone after the guy by yourself, but you kept yourself hidden until you heard that he didn't hurt innocents. I think that's fairly reasonable. Next time you call me first though. You got it?"

Chris looked down and nodded. "Okay Dad."

"As for stealing the car, it was in the line of duty, so I'm not upset about the fact of you taking it, but I'm not sure what you planned to accomplish. Racing through public streets isn't really safe for bystanders, and what were you planning to if you did catch him?"

Chris shrugged, "I'm not sure. Talk to him I guess."

Leo looked over at Phoebe and said, "What are you wearing?"

Phoebe waved him off and said to Chris, "Do you think he went back to his hideout?"

Chris held up the throwing star and said, "Let's scry for him and find out."

They scryed for the demon, and the throwing star landed on the map right where the manor was. Chris looked up at Leo and said, "The guy is here."

Phoebe looked at Leo and said, "Paige."

The three of them ran to Paige's room and Leo was first to burst through the door. They were all stunned to see Paige kissing some half dressed man on her bed. Phoebe said, "Paige?"

Chris pointed at the guy and said, "That's him! That's the demon or witch or whatever he is."

Paige shook her head "He can't be. He's not even real, he's my Mr. Right."

Phoebe said, "Mr. Right? As in you conjured this guy to be your own personal…. Sex toy?"

Paige said, "No! It's more like a… companion."

Phoebe made a noise of disgust and left the room. Leo said, "Maybe the two of you should compose yourselves and come downstairs to talk about this."

Leo and Chris followed Phoebe, and a few seconds later Paige and Mr. Right came down as well. Phoebe was in a huff and said, "I can't believe you Paige. About a month ago I lost my powers because of misusing them, and I've told you time and time again about personal gain. What the hell were you thinking?"

Paige got mad too and said, "Yeah, that's right! You did lose your powers, and I've been doing double or even triple the work around here, so excuse me if I needed a break!"

Chris held up his hand and said, "Wait a minute, I think you guys are forgetting that we have more pressing issues here. This Mr. Right is the same guy who drove off in that Porsche today. Do you remember me?"

Mr. Right shook his head, "Sorry Chris, I've been here in the house all day. I wasn't the person you saw."

Chris asked, "How do you know my name."

Mr. Right put a hand on Paige's shoulder and said, "I know everything Paige knows to better anticipate her needs and…."

Phoebe held up a hand and said, "Stop there. We get the whole icky picture."

Chris turned to Leo and said, "This other guy knew me too. He even knew I shouldn't be going after him alone and told me to go home"

Leo nodded and thought about it for a second. He looked at Paige and said, "Could be two halves of the same Mr. Right."

Paige shook her head, "How can there be two halves?"

Leo expounded, "Because you created Mr. Right for your own personal gain, there is most likely going to be a consequence. If you put all your good thoughts into this one, then every time he appeared it's highly likely a 'Mr. Wrong' appeared somewhere else at the same time. This Mr. Wrong would also know everything you know, but he would be focusing on all your negative energy instead of your positive energy."

Paige shook her head. "I am so sick and tired of all this personal gain crap. We give and give to magic, and it never gives back."

Mr. Right rubbed Paige's back and said, "But you know they are right. No matter how much you don't like it, you knew it was wrong when you created me, and you knew there was a chance for things to go wrong."

Paige looked hurt and said, "I thought you were on my side."

"I am, but you know it's true."

Paige sighed and said, "Okay, okay. You're right."

Phoebe said, "So then can we just reverse the spell? Get rid of Mr. Right, and Mr. Wrong goes away too."

Mr. Right said apologetically, "My time isn't up until midnight. Tell then I'm pretty much indestructible."

Chris sighed and said, "Great. So what do you suppose this Mr. Wrong wants to do?"

Leo said, "Get Paige to give in to her darker side."

At that point the doorbell rang. Phoebe answered it and found Darryl on the other side. He held up a warrant and said, "I have a warrant for the arrest of Christopher Halliwell."

Phoebe said, "What?"

Darryl and some other police came into the house and put some handcuffs on Chris while Chris looked irritated and said, "Dad?"

Leo leaned in to Darryl and said, "What's going on here? I thought you were covering for Chris."

Darryl glared at Leo and said, "He stole a car Leo. I told you guys I wasn't going to help you anymore. Chris asked me to help. I never agreed."

Chris looked a little worried and said to Leo, "I thought he would! He didn't say he wouldn't!"

Leo put a hand on Chris' shoulder and said, "It's okay son, you go on with Darryl and don't say anything to anyone. We'll figure this out."

Chris nodded and went with Darryl. Once they were gone Leo looked at Phoebe and Paige and said, "I've got to go tell Piper what's going on, or she's gonna kill me. You two brain storm and think of a way to vanquish Mr. Wrong."

********

Leo went to see Piper and had her sit down to tell her what had been going on. Piper sat there stunned for a few seconds and said, "I have to go home."

Leo held her hand and said, "No, it's still safer for both you and Wyatt to stay here. I'll take care of it."

Piper looked at him and asked, "How?"

Leo said, "I need you to do a spell for me. Chris needs some identification, so that he can get out of jail. Can you create a drivers license and social security card for him?"

Piper thought about it for a second. "I think so."

"Good."

"But if he stole a car, I don't see how that's gonna help get him out."

Leo held up a little bag of powder and said, "The car salesman is going to forget what he saw along with anyone else who might have been a witness."

Piper looked a little surprised and Leo shrugged. "He's my son. I'm not going to let him spend time in prison when he didn't do anything morally wrong."

Piper gave Leo a knowing smile and said, "He stole a car."

Leo smiled too. "He borrowed it."

"You're a big softy."

Leo couldn't disagree and said, "I can't help it. I hate the thought of him there in the cell alone and afraid."

Piper nodded. "You're a good father."

Leo lost his smile and looked over at Wyatt who was in the playpen. "I hope to be this time around."

Piper put a hand on his face and made him look at her. "You will be. Go deal with the car salesman, and I'll have the identification ready for Chris when you come back."

Leo couldn't help himself and leaned down to kiss her once before he orbed away.

*******

Half an hour later Leo had the car salesman at the police station talking with Darryl. Since the salesman had both the cars back, and couldn't remember anyone taking them, Darryl couldn't hold Chris for stealing the car, but he looked at Leo and said, "I'm holding him for resisting arrest and for breaking out of prison."

Leo pleaded, "Darryl, you have kids, you know Chris is my son. Please."

Darryl glared and said, "No Leo. After the last time I helped you I promised myself, and I promised my wife there would be no more, and I meant what I said."

Leo nodded and said, "Alright Darryl."

Darryl looked down obviously feeling bad about all of it, and turned around to look out his window. While his back was turned Leo put a small pinch of white powder and put it on Darryl's head. Darryl turned around and said, "What were we talking about Leo?"

"You said since the car salesman can't remember Chris stealing a car, that you were going to have to let him out."

Darryl nodded and said, "That's right, I'll let him out as soon as I get done with the paperwork. I'm really sorry I had to be the bad guy on this one Leo, but you understand that I have a commitment to my family right?"

Leo looked down feeling bad about it and said, "Yes I understand better then you know. Do you think I could see Chris?"

Darryl showed him to the back and then went to fill out paperwork. Leo held onto the bars and saw Chris sitting on the bottom bunk of a cell looking worn out. Leo said, "Chris?"

Chris got up and walked over to the bars. "Hey Dad."

Leo looked around to make sure no one could hear and told Chris what had happened. Chris said with disbelief, "You really used the dust on Darryl?"

Leo reached out for Chris with a hand through the bars, and Chris stepped up so Leo could put a hand on his shoulder. Leo said, "I'd do anything to protect you Chris. I love you."

Chris blushed slightly and looked away. He said, "Thanks Dad."

Leo patted his shoulder and said, "You gonna be okay here for a little bit? I need to go help your aunts."

Chris nodded. "Sure."

***********

As Leo walked out of the police station he heard Phoebe in his head calling for him. He walked around the side of the building and orbed. Phoebe was in an ally on the other side of town, and when Leo got there Phoebe said, "We've got a problem."

Leo looked around. "Where's Paige."

"With Mr. Wrong."

Leo held out his hand and orbed both him and Phoebe back to the manor. Mr. Right was waiting there in the attic. He said with worry, "Where's Paige?"

Phoebe said, "We tried the vanquishing potion that we made with your blood, but it didn't work. He said something about it wasn't time yet. Then all he did was touch Paige and look her in the eye, and she went with him! She didn't even turn around when I yelled at her. Is she under some kind of spell do you think?"

Mr. Right shook his head. "Paige has a dark side. Darker then any of you suspect. She hates having to hide her magic. And the both of us have enough pheromones to kill a small elephant, so I'm sure she is just enamored with him right now."

Phoebe flopped onto a couch and said, "Great."

Leo looked at Mr. Right and said, "Got any suggestions?"

Mr. Right smiled and said, "Actually I've been thinking about that since you've been gone. What if we made him real?"

Leo and Phoebe looked at each other. Mr. Right said, "Well actually make me real, and then he would be real as a result because we are as Leo said two sides of the same person."

Leo said, "If he was real, we could kill him. It could work."

Phoebe worked on the potion for the next hour, and then tried it out on Mr. Right. She said, "Did it work?"

He nodded and said, "Yes. I can feel. I can smell. It's all different now."

Leo looked at Phoebe and said, "Let's get Piper and the two of you can go kill Mr. Wrong and get Paige back."

Phoebe nodded and Leo looked at Mr. Right and said, "You'd better start thinking about a name, and what you want to do with this life you've been given. You know you can't stay with Paige because….."

He held a hand up, "I know. Personal gain."

Leo nodded and then orbed him and Phoebe to magic school. Phoebe, Piper, and Leo all orbed to the underworld leaving Wyatt in the school's daycare. They quickly found Paige and Mr. Wrong talking about all the things they wanted to do when they were free to use magic out in the open with no fear of personal gain. Piper cleared her throat and they saw her. Piper said, "Paige, I don't know what you think you're doing, but you need to come home with us. Using your magic in the open is never going to be okay with me, Phoebe, Leo, or Mom and Grams."

Paige glared at her and said, "I hate you acting like you're my mom or something! I never even got to know Mom or Grams, so why should I care what they think! I love my magic, and I want to be able to use it when I want for what I want. To hell with the rest of you."

Phoebe tried, "Sweetie, this isn't you talking, it's Mr. Wrong's pheromones."

Paige orbed a small rock towards Phoebe's head. "Don't tell me it isn't me! You don't know how I feel! Always so bossy, and you're only a few years older then me!"

Leo said, "Talking isn't getting anywhere."

Paige turned on him and said, "And you! Always telling us what we should be doing, while you sit back and do nothing on your own. No wonder your children turn out all wrong!"

Piper yelled "Hey! That's enough."

Piper flicked her hands at Mr. Wrong and he exploded all over the floor. Paige stood there for a second with her mouth open, and then a feeling washed over her, and she realized she had been under Mr. Wrong's influence. She looked over at Piper, Phoebe, and Leo and said, "Oh God. I'm so sorry."

Paige put a hand over her mouth and started to cry. Piper went and gave her a hug and said, "It's gonna be okay. Let's go home."

Paige nodded and orbed Piper home while Leo orbed Phoebe home.

************

Later that night, Chris came home to lots of hugs and reassurances that he was safe. He took Piper home and then came home himself to help Leo set up Mr. Right with a new life. After Leo spent some time with Mr. Right talking about what would happen to him now that he was basically a new witch and a new person, he told Mr. Right to say good bye to Paige. Paige was sitting by herself in the living room thinking about what had happened. Mr. Right came in and Paige stood up. They smiled at each other and Paige said, "So are you all set?"

"I think so."

"Don't be nervous. Leo will take good care of you."

"I know, remember."

Paige smiled. "Did you pick out a name yet?"

"If you don't mind I thought I'd use Vincent."

Paige nodded, "My first boyfriend. That's a lovely name."

"I wish I could stay with you."

Paige took a few steps and hugged him. "I wish you could too, but after these past few days, we can't risk anymore problems coming from personal gain, and I think having the perfect man for me that I created would fall under that heading."

Vincent knew the goodbye would be hard for Paige, and let her go. He said, "Let's tell Leo I'm ready."

They walked together to the kitchen but stopped in the entryway when they heard Chris and Leo talking. Leo said, "I don't even see why you're bringing this up. You're not in trouble for anything that you did today."

"I'm bringing it up, because I'm trying to get you to see how ridiculous the whole thing is. I'm twenty-two, and she's twenty-five. She's not even three whole years older then me. She has spent weeks using magic for her own personal gain. She lied to all of us repeatedly about taking 'naps'. She manipulated us into believing she was fine with the way things were when she obviously needed help. And still you all trust her to be an adult and see the error of her way without a spanking. All I'm saying is it's kind of hypocritical. If you're not going to come down on her for doing the same exact things, then you shouldn't come down on me either."

"It's not exactly the same Chris, I'm not her father."

Chris rolled his eyes and said, "Right, so the real reason you spank me isn't because you're trying to make me a better person like you said, it's just because you feel you have the right as my biological father to order me around."

Leo was losing his patients. "Chris it's not like that and you know it."

"Then what's it like?!"

Leo sighed and tried to put it into words. Before he could come up with something Vincent made Chris and Leo aware of their presence by clearing his throat. Leo and Chris turned to see them and Chris turned red as he asked, "How long were you standing there?"

Vincent looked down at Paige who was bright red and said, "Long enough."

Chris cursed under his breath. Vincent said, "Leo, could I talk to you in private for a second."

Leo nodded and the two of them walked out of the room for a few seconds. Chris and Paige shared a very uncomfortable silence for two minutes before Leo and Vincent came back. Vincent walked over to Paige and nodded at Leo. Leo held out his hand and blue specks came out of Paige's chest and into Leo's hand. Chris looked back and forth between Leo and Paige and said, "What's going on?"

Paige looked shocked herself and said, "Leo?"

Vincent took Paige's hand and said, "Can I talk to you upstairs for a few minutes?"

Paige shook her head and tried to take a step back, but Vincent held her tight. He said, "I know you Paige. You made me to fill your every neglected need remember? Come upstairs with me. You know it's the right thing to do, even if you don't want to."

Paige looked over at Leo for a second and then looked back at Vincent. She looked back down and gave a slight nod as she followed him up the stairs.

Chris stood there in shock shaking his head. When Paige and Vincent were out of eyesight he said, "This is not what I meant Dad, and you know it. The point I was trying to make is that you _shouldn't_ spank me, not that someone _should_ spank Paige. We're both adults!"

Leo put a hand on Chris' shoulder and said, "I know Chris, and I'm sorry but it was Paige's decision, not mine."

Chris orbed away, not wanting to be anywhere near what was going to happen, even if he couldn't get away from sensing her pain as her whitelighter no matter how far away he got. He was on top of the Golden Gate Bridge when he sensed her pain, and his whole body tensed up thinking it was all wrong. Then he heard Leo's voice behind him. "Hey Chris, how about I buy you a beer over at P3 and we can see how the place is doing."

Chris turned around and looked closely at his father. Leo had never offered to buy him a beer before. He asked, "Is this your way of proving you know I'm an adult?"

Leo smiled, "You got me. How about it? The noise will help. We'll take Vincent to his new place tomorrow morning."

Chris was having trouble blocking out Paige's emotional turmoil and pain. He nodded and said, "Okay."

**************

Paige followed Vincent up the stairs thinking the whole way that she should put up more of a protest. She thought she should complain loudly and tell him to screw off, but she found herself following meekly, because in the end she knew she had messed up. He took them to her room where they had spent many pleasant evenings together, and shut the door behind them. He led them to the bed and had her sit down beside him. He gently brushed the hair out of her face and said, "Let's get it over with, and then I'll spend one last night with you."

She nodded at the floor. He said, "Hey look at me."

She did. He said, "We both know what you did was wrong, and you feel guilty about it. But it was just a mistake, not the end of the world, and not something that can't be forgiven."

A tear slid down her face, and she whispered, "That's what my Dad would say to me when I was in trouble."

Vincent smiled knowingly and nodded. He pulled her over his lap and started swatting the seat of her pants. The first swat took Paige by surprise and she said, "Hey! Ow! Not so hard!"

Vincent kept swatting just as hard and kept quiet, knowing nothing he said at that point was going to register much. And he knew that while she might hate what he was doing, that she wouldn't really be able to forgive herself if he didn't punish her enough.

Paige was feeling bad when it started, but when it really started to hurt, she struggled to get away, but found Vincent was much stronger then she was. She yelled out, "I made you damn it! You stop! I hate you!"

Vincent ignored her, knowing it's what she would say, and paused long enough to pull down her pants. She gave an undignified screech and yelled, "Knock it off God damn it!"

Vincent started spanking harder, and within a few seconds she was crying and instead of demanding he stop she was telling him she was sorry and begging him to stop. He stopped and paused for a second for her to focus on what he was saying. He said, "Are you going to have any more issues with personal gain?"

Paige broke down into more sobs and shook her head no. Vincent said, "You'd better not."

He gave her ten more hard swats and then stopped for good. He picked her up, and put her on her side lying on the bed. He lay next to her and put his arms around her and let her cry. After a few minutes he murmured that he loved her, and she was forgiven over and over again until she fell asleep.

* * *

Present time

Chris rolled over in his bed again and wondered what kind of reaction he would get if he just went to Leo and told him that they only had a month left to save Wyatt. He groaned and thought, 'You know what his reaction will be. That's why you don't want to tell him.' He tossed and turned for the next hour before finally falling asleep.

Well before he was ready for it, the sun came through Chris' window. He pulled the covers over his head and rolled away from the sun. As he was about to drift off again he heard his mother's voice in his head calling him. "Chris? Chris, are you awake? We need to have a family meeting."

Closing his eyes tighter Chris pretended he hadn't heard. A minute later there was a knock on his door. Giving up, Chris pulled the covers off his head and said, "Yeah?"

Paige opened his door and said, "Get up. Family meeting at magic school in fifteen minutes."

"Okay, okay I'm up."

Paige shut the door and went to get herself ready. Chris looked at the clock. He'd had three hours of sleep.

A hurried fifteen minutes later Chris arrived to see the whole family was seated around a table at magic school. Smiling Piper said, "Morning sleepy head."

Scowling Chris gave her a curt, "Morning." And sat down next to Phoebe. Before anyone else could comment Gideon arrived.

"Thank you all for coming so quickly, I'm in desperate need of your help. Last night one of our teachers was murdered."

Leo said, "I'm so sorry. Who was it?"

"Ginny"

There was a moment of silence and then Gideon continued, "Five witches have been killed in the past two weeks, all stabbed in the heart. We aren't sure who is killing them, or why, but we are sure that it isn't random. All of the witches that were killed have some ties to this school. Two were former students, two have children who currently attend classes, and the most recent murder was Ginny. We hadn't put it all together until last night. We need the Charmed One's to concentrate all their energy into finding out who is doing this before there is a panic."

Paige said, "Of course. We'll do everything we can."

Phoebe asked, "Do you have any other information on the murders?"

Gideon set some files on the table and said, "This is everything I have collected so far."

Paige, Phoebe, Piper, and Leo all took a file and started looking through them. Feeling tired and frustrated Chris said, "We don't have time for this."

Looking both surprised and disappointed Piper said; "We'll make time."

"Let the school deal with their own issues. We have enough of our own."

Leo's tone was chastising as he said, "Chris."

Standing and raising his voice Chris said, "No. I'm telling you guys, we don't have time for this. We only have one month left! We all need to concentrate on who is out to get Wyatt, because if we don't most of the witches on the planet are going to get killed anyway!"

The room was silent for a few seconds and then Leo said, "What do you mean we only have a month left?"

Looking around the room at the upset faces of his family, Chris found he just couldn't tell them the truth. He looked down and said, "Well I figure I'll be born in a month, and I don't think two of me can exist in the same time. That means we have a month."

Leo stood and walked around the table so he could put a hand on Chris' shoulder. "Even if you leave before we figure out what happens to Wyatt, we're all still going to be vigilant about protecting him, and watching for any signs of a change. We won't let it happen this time Chris."

Chris couldn't keep eye contact with his father, and looked at the table as he nodded. Leo patted his shoulder and said, "Someone killing witches takes priority for the next few days until we find the killer and put a stop to it."

"Okay." Chris mumbled.

Gideon smiled and said, "Thank you all. I'll bring any new news to your attention immediately. For now I need to go make arrangements for Ginny's classes."

Once Gideon was gone, everyone looked at the files Gideon had given them about the recent deaths. Chris decided he'd better get his mind focused on this as best he could, because the quicker they solved this, the quicker they could get back to doing what was important – saving Wyatt. He studied the files and listened to his family around him bouncing ideas off each other about who could be doing the killing. As he was reading he remembered being undercover in a demon bar a few days ago, and overhearing some demons talking about killing witches.

Interrupting the conversation around him Chris raised his voice to be heard and said, "Hey I just remembered something. Three days ago when I was looking for that shape-shifter, I was in a demon bar, and I over heard a group of them talking about killing witches."

Paige said with irritation, "And you're just telling us this _now_?!"

Irritated himself, Chris answered, "It's not like they were talking about specific witches! They were talking in general. Now that I think about it, I've heard a few different demons over the past three weeks talking about the fact that so many demons have gone missing or been found dead lately. Killing the witches could be retaliation. Especially witches involved in a school that teaches magic."

Phoebe gave Chris an annoyed look and said, "I have to agree with Paige. You should have told us about this as soon as you heard it. Maybe we could have prevented some of these deaths if we'd known."

Not having the best day to begin with Chris said, "Well maybe if you hadn't lost your powers by misusing them, you could have had a premonition about this and we could have prevented some deaths!"

Before Phoebe or Paige could retaliate, Leo spoke sharply, "Chris."

Cringing at the tone Chris turned to Leo. With his lecture face firmly in place, Leo started in. "Both your aunts are right. If you hear rumors like that you need to let us know. We've talked about trying to work as part of a team instead of working on your own. And I know we've gone over the fact that keeping important information from your family is the same thing as lying."

Leo saw Chris shaking his head and continued, "I know you weren't keeping it from us intentionally, it just hadn't occurred to you to tell us until now, but that's part of the problem Chris. If one of us had heard a rumor like that, it wouldn't have occurred to us _not_ to tell the rest of the family. It's a different mindset, and it's something you need to work on."

Embarrassed to be getting lectured in front of everyone, Chris wanted it over and said, "Okay, I'll work on it."

Pleased, Leo said, "Good. Now think back is there anything else you remember that could help us with this case? Anything else you haven't told us?"

Chris knew Leo was talking about the case, but couldn't help but think yes there was something else he hadn't told them. He looked away and said, "There were no specific threats towards witches in the conversations I overheard. Just demons lamenting the fact that so many of their own were being killed lately, and a general consensus that something should be done about it."

Phoebe said, "Well you have killed more demons in the past year then we usually do. I guess we should have anticipated some kind of retaliation. Now the question is, what should we do?"

"I'll go undercover in the underworld, find out who it is, and kill them." Chris said as if it were a mater of fact and not up for debate.

Piper said, "No you won't!" and at the same time Leo said, "It's too dangerous to do on your own Chris."

Rolling his eyes Chris said, "Oh brother. It's no more dangerous today then it was yesterday."

"They're killing witches Chris!" Piper said.

Raising his voice as well Chris said, "They try to kill witches every day Mom! Look, if it will make you happier, I'll just go find out who it is, and come home with the information so we can all go after him."

Looking displeased but speaking calmly Leo said, "Chris, yelling at your mom isn't okay."

Chris blushed and muttered to the table, "Well, it was the truth."

"Chris." Leo's tone was warning enough.

Clenching his jaw, and not sounding particularly apologetic, Chris said, "Sorry Mom."

Leo sighed, "We'll go to the underworld together to get information."

Chris opened his mouth to protest, but Leo held up a hand and said, "I know, you don't think I make a believable demon. I'll be invisible and blend with the walls where I can keep an eye on you without interfering."

Obviously displeased with this idea, but doubting he had any choice in the matter, Chris ground out, "Fine."

Piper said, "Good. I'll question the people here at the school about the deaths and see if we can find any more similarities between the victims."

Phoebe looked at her watch. "I need to go to work, but call me if you need me to come home."

Paige said, "I'll take Phoebe to work, and then I'll look through the Book of Shadows. See if I can find anything on a demon who stabs the heart."

"Meet back here at lunch time?" Leo asked.

Everyone agreed, and soon Chris and Leo were in the underworld with Chris disguised as a demon, and Leo blended into the wall.

******************

Chris wandered for a while trying to listen in on conversations without being obvious about it. A couple of hours later he heard what he had been waiting for. It was the third bar he had tried out, and he could tell the atmosphere was different in this one. No one was playing pool, and the main room was mostly empty. Chris got a beer and walked back towards the back room where he could hear voices. He found the scene that greeted him disturbing.

There was an average looking man standing on a table near the back of the room talking. The back room was stuffed to capacity with a large variety of demons, and they were all listening to the man with rapt attention. As Chris listened in, he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

"So tell me citizens of the underworld, are we going to sit around and take it, or are we going to do something about it?"

A few demons muttered they should do something about it, and even more nodded in agreement. The man continued, "How many of our brothers and sisters have to die before we stand up and say no more? How many of our children and parents have to suffer before we take up arms against the enemy?"

He looked into the audience and pointed to a vampire, "You sir. How many have you lost this year?"

The vampire said, "Four of my brothers."

The man nodded solemnly and pointed to a female shape shifter, "And you my sister. How many have you lost this year?"

"Three."

The man made a fist and smashed it against the palm of his other hand. "We can not allow this to go on! The witches are living among the humans, while we are relegated to the underworld. The witches are allowed to hold jobs and buy houses. The witches are all living in homes with their families, not scrounging for food in the cold underworld. Do they have to worry that someone will come kill them in the night while they sleep?"

More then one shouts of 'No!' could be heard from the audience. "Do they have to live in fear that someone will find out what they are and hunt them down along with everyone they love?"

"No!" More demons joined in.

The man on the table took a deep breath and looked to his right. Chris had been so caught up with listening to the man, he hadn't noticed that there was a young woman sitting in a chair right beside the table, and she was facing the audience as well. The man held out his hand to her. She stood, took his hand, and let him help her up on the table with him. He looked out at the crowd, making eye contact with as many as possible before speaking, "My brothers, we must take action, and the action that we take must be organized. If you join us, I promise to avenge each and every one of you for the wrongs that were committed against your families."

Cheers went up around the room. One of the demons that hadn't cheered said, "What is this action that you plan to take?"

"Well sir, I'm glad you asked me that. A little less then a year ago, my brother was killed. Cut down in cold blood, just for being a demon. He wasn't hurting anyone, but it didn't matter. I made him a promise that day as I held him and watched his eyes go dim. I promised to kill the son of a bitch responsible for his death."

"But how could I do that? I'm a low level demon, and the witch who killed my brother… well let's just say there would be no contest if we got in a fight. So I spent every spare minute of my time for the next six months doing research."

The man turned to the woman standing next to him on the table and said, "That's when I met my lovely Bonnie. Her whole family was wiped out in one night. She's the only survivor of the massacre, and she wanted revenge the same as me. The day I met her, I decided to go by the name Clyde. Why you may ask? Because the day I met her, was the day we discovered how to win the war. We steal."

There were murmurs of uncertainty throughout the room. Clyde held up his hand, and looked at a glass of water that was across the room. The glass moved through the air and landed in Clyde's hand. There were a few gasps from the audience. Clyde took a sip and said, "Now ask yourselves how could a low level demon like myself do that?"

He paused a second for affect and then said, "I can do it, because it's a power that I stole from a witch."

There were murmurs of surprise and some disbelief. One demon called out, "That's impossible. How can you steal powers?"

Clyde looked at Bonnie. She held up her hand and a fireball appeared on top of it, which she flung at the wall beside them, and burned a whole through to the other side. Clyde kissed her cheek in approval. He turned to the audience and held his hands up in the air. "You may not understand how it's possible, but let me assure you it is possible. If you can find it in yourselves to have faith, if you can believe that we can do what we say, if you join us, and if you're loyal, we will have our revenge. Bonnie and I are getting stronger with every power we steal. Soon there won't be a witch strong enough to stop us."

Someone in the room called out, "What about the Charmed Ones?"

The room grew silent as Clyde glared in the general direction that question had come from. He said with malice, "What about them. Let them come! I have stolen the power from three witches already, and Bonnie has the power of two. After tonight she'll have another. Soon, even the Charmed One's won't be able to stop us, and once that happens, we'll get the witch with the ultimate power."

There were whispers in the room, but Chris distinctly heard the name 'Wyatt.' Chris looked in the general direction he knew Leo was standing, and hoped he would stay hidden no matter how hard it must be for him after hearing that. Bonnie said, "Those of you who want to join us, come introduce yourselves."

Both Bonnie and Clyde got down off the table, and were immediately surrounded by demons eager to join the cause. Chris discreetly walked into the bathroom, and looked around to make sure he was alone before he said, "Leo?"

Leo appeared, and Chris could tell he was disturbed by what he had heard as well. Chris said urgently, "I have to go talk to them. Get in their good graces, so I can find out who they're going to kill before they do it. We have to find out how they are getting power from these witches before they kill them, and we have to stop them before they get more."

Leo said somewhat dazed, "They're after Wyatt's power." He had heard Chris tell him hundreds of times that a demon was after Wyatt, but it hadn't seemed as real to him as it did today.

Chris put a hand on Leo's shoulder and said, "Not yet. That's why we have to stop them now."

Leo still seemed lost in his own thoughts. Chris said, "Dad?"

Shaking his head to snap himself out if it, Leo said, "We don't know what powers they have. What if they are able to sense that you're a witch."

Sounding grim, Chris said, "Then you'll have to heal me. We can't miss this opportunity to meet them. If we do, it may be too late not only for Wyatt, but also for the rest of us. Stay close, and stay out of sight unless I'm near death."

Leo didn't like it, but he had to agree that this was the best opportunity to meet them, and chances were slim that they would be able to sense who Chris really was. "Okay."

Chris turned to leave, but Leo turned him back around and pulled him into a quick hug. Needing the comfort as much as Leo, Chris hugged him back tightly. Once Leo let go, he faded into the wall again. Chris went back out, and saw that Clyde and Bonnie were still surrounded by many demons, so he got in line to meet them.

Ten minutes later he was shaking hands with both of them, and promising his allegiance to them. Bonnie asked him the same thing they asked every demon so far. "What kind of demon are you?"

Chris changed his appearance from an older man to a young woman and said, "I'm a shape shifter."

Bonnie's eyes seemed to light up, and she looked over at Clyde with a huge grin. Clyde put a hand on Chris' shoulder and said, "You my brother, will be indispensable in our movement. What's your name?"

"Well if you're Bonnie, and you're Clyde, maybe you should call me Buck."

Clyde and Bonnie shared a look. Clyde said, "Clyde's brother. You know your history."

Chris was glad Wyatt had been obsessed with the outlaws in his early teens, because otherwise he wouldn't have known. "What good demon doesn't know the story of the most misunderstood 'criminals' in history. They were just trying to survive. In a time when the government was all-powerful, and the rich were getting fat while the common man starved. Interesting how rich rhymes with witch isn't it?"

Clyde nodded and squeezed Chris' shoulder in a friendly gesture before letting go. He said, "Buck it is. Why don't you come back to our house with us after we're done here."

Chris changed his appearance back to the old man and said, "It will be my pleasure brother."

****************

Three hours later Chris was at a small blocked off area of the underworld where Bonnie and Clyde had made a little 'house' for themselves. Chris and ten other demons who had been in the crowd had come back with them. Once they got there, Clyde pulled Chris aside and showed him some of the research he had done. He had information and pictures on at least fifty witches. Chris looked through them, and found information on all of his family members, including himself and Wyatt.

Clyde looked through the photos and picked one out. Chris didn't recognize the witch. Clyde said, "Bonnie is going after this one today. She has the power to become invisible. With a shape shifter on our side that won't be as important as it was yesterday, but it could still be useful."

Chris nodded and read up on the witch, trying to memorize everything he could about her as quickly as possible. She was the mother of a student at magic school, and her name was Beth. He handed the folder back to Clyde and said, "How can I help?"

Clyde opened the folder and got out another picture of a younger man. He handed it to Chris and said, "You can help us get close while her guard is down. This is a picture of her fiancé. You go to her looking like this, and tell her Bonnie is someone who needs her help. Then once Bonnie is in the house, she can make her move."

"And what is her move exactly?"

"You'll see. Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise."

Chris shrugged as if it meant nothing to him one way or another. "When do we go?"

Clyde looked at his watch. "The witch should be home in about half an hour."

"Where does the fiancé work? If I'm going to do a good job of shifting into him, I'll need more then a picture. I need to see them move."

Waving at one of his followers, Clyde said, "This here is Furlow. He's a darklighter, so he can orb. He'll take you."

Chris nodded and stood still while Furlow put a hand on his shoulder to orb them. Once they were in front of the building, Chris pretended to be a little wobbly and said, "Wow, I could never get used to moving around like that."

Furlow said, "It gets better with time. The guy works in there, on the third floor."

Chris nodded. "Come back and get me in half an hour?"

"Sure."

As soon as Furlow was gone, Chris called out, "Leo?"

Leo orbed in next to Chris. They looked at each other and both orbed to magic school together.

*********

Ten minutes later the whole family and Gideon were sitting around the conference table, with Leo holding Wyatt close, and Chris explaining what was going on. When he was done everyone was silent for a few seconds. Then Phoebe said, "So this is it then. This is what turns Wyatt evil? They try to get his powers, but can't, and instead make him join forces with them?"

Chris shook his head. "Can't be. This is all because of me. It's something that I've changed with my presence here in the past. Because I killed so many demons, they are going to retaliate. I mean it's a serious threat to Wyatt, and to all the other witches, but it's not what turned him evil."

Gideon who had sat silently by up to this point stepped in. "Let's not be hasty with that assumption Chris. This could very well be what happened in the past. It may have just moved the timeframe up. You said a witch killed Clyde's brother, but that doesn't mean he was killed by you. And if he was killed by someone else, this could have all happened before."

Because Chris knew that there was only a month left, he seriously doubted that these could be the demons that had made Wyatt evil. Without him there killing so many demons, Bonnie and Clyde wouldn't have had the support of so many demons. But Chris couldn't exactly blurt out that he'd been hiding this fact from his family for the past year, so instead he said, "But he also said Bonnie's family was all killed. That can't be a coincidence. It has to be because of me."

Scoffing, Gideon said, "You're not the only witch out there killing demons. Do you remember either one of these demons?"

"No, but that….."

Gideon cut him off, "Then don't assume. Assumptions can be dangerous. You've been here looking for what turned Wyatt evil, so don't assume anything until you've done your research."

Nodding Leo said, "I agree. But first things first, what are we going to do right now?"

Glad to get back on track for the here and now, Chris said, "I'll go in looking like Beth's fiancé, and then when I see Bonnie about to make her move, I'll stop her."

Piper frowned, "She can throw fireballs Chris. That's not a good plan."

"Then give me another."

The room was quiet for a few seconds. Chris said, "I'll have surprise on my side. As soon as I see what Bonnie does to steal Beth's power, I'll try to kill her quickly, and orb Beth and myself to safety. We can decide what else to do after that."

No one answered for a few seconds. Chris said, "We're running out of time. I still have to get a look at the fiancé to do a good impression, and I only have ten minutes left before that darklighter comes to orb me back."

Piper and Leo looked at each other. Leo said, "I can't stay invisible and orb at the same time. I can't follow them, but I can wait for them at Beth's house. We have the address."

Piper looked at Chris and gave him a shaky, "Okay."

"I'll be as careful as I can Mom. Don't worry."

Leo put a hand over hers and said, "Once Chris attacks, I'll join in. With the two of us working together, we should be able to kill Bonnie."

Everyone in the room stared at Leo. Gideon said, "What are you saying Leo?"

Leo looked at him. "I'm saying I'll kill anyone who comes after my kids."

Shaking his head no Gideon said, "You can't. You're an Elder. It wouldn't be right."

"Watch me." Leo said it with such conviction, that no one in the room doubted him.

Sounding appalled Gideon said, "That would be a gross misuse of power. You'd be banished."

Phoebe whispered to Paige, "Power? What power?"

Paige whispered back, "How should I know?"

Leo stood and stared Gideon down and said fiercely, "I will not sit by and watch someone hurt my children. Not while there is still breath left in me."

Everyone was silent while Gideon and Leo faced off for a few seconds. Chris eventually said, "I need to go, or I won't be in time."

Piper said, "Be careful."

Leo turned to Chris. "I'll be waiting for you at Beth's house."

Chris nodded and orbed away.


	8. Chapter 8

Leo stood blended into the wall at Beth's house anxiously waiting. Beth had been home for a good half an hour, and there was still no sign of Chris. Just when Leo thought that maybe he should go start searching the underworld, he heard the doorbell ring. Beth answered and saw her fiancé on the other side. She was about to reach up and kiss him when she saw a woman standing beside him, and a man behind them both. She opened the door wide and said, "Jason?"

Chris walked in along with Bonnie and Furlow. He said, "These people need our help."

Beth shut the door behind them, and without preamble Bonnie took a knife out of her back pocket, and tried to stab Beth. Beth was too stunned to react, and would have been stabbed in the heart if not for Chris' quick reaction. He grabbed Bonnie's arm and said, "What are you doing? I thought you wanted her power, not to kill her."

Upon hearing this Beth disappeared. Bonnie shrieked, "You idiot! The knife is how I get her power. Now we'll never find her."

Furlow got out his loaded crossbow and aimed it at Chris.

Purposely ignoring this, Chris looked at the knife and said, "How does that get her power?"

Bonnie yanked her arm out of Chris' hand and muttered, "Clyde and his surprises." She said to Chris, "I stab the witch's heart, and the knife acts like a conductor. The power goes from her to me though the knife. Now help me find her!"

Having the information Chris needed, he used his telekinesis to yank the knife out of Bonnie's hand and transfer it to his own. He tried to stab her with it, but she ducked and it missed her. She had a fireball ready as she came up and tossed it at him. At the same time Furlow shot an arrow at him too. Chris orbed away just in time to avoid both. Leo appeared from out of the wall and raised one hand towards Bonnie, and the other towards Furlow, but before he could do anything Chris orbed back into the living room in between Bonnie and Leo. Chris used his telekinesis to fling Bonnie hard against the nearest wall, and turned to stab Furlow, but he orbed to avoid the slash. Bonnie slumped down to the floor with the breath knocked out of her, unable to move for a few seconds.

Chris was coming at her with the knife, but before he could get to her, Furlow appeared in front of him and kicked him in the stomach. Chris was tossed back a few feet and Leo said, "Stay out of the way."

Furlow reached out for Bonnie's hand, but before he could touch her, a vial appeared out of thin air, landed on Bonnie, and she went up in flames screaming for a second before she disappeared. Furlow yelled in rage, "You'll all pay for this!" before disappearing in a cloud of black specks as he orbed.

Chris looked in the general direction the vial had come from and said, "Vanquishing potion?"

A voice said, "Yes."

Chris got up off the floor, changed into his real appearance and said, "Thanks. I'm Chris, the whitelighter for the Charmed One's. They heard you were in trouble, and sent me to check on you."

Beth appeared in front of him. He felt rather then saw Leo behind him. "And this is Leo. He's an Elder, and he's here to help you as well. I'm afraid you're still in danger. They will be back."

Leo said, "It would be best if you came with us, so we can protect you until we catch the leader of this group."

Beth nodded and said, "Let me just call Jason to warn him, and then I'll come."

Chris showed Leo the knife. Leo looked it over and said, "I don't recognize it."

"We should try the Book of Shadows. Maybe we should drop Beth off at magic school first? She should be safe there."

Leo thought about that for a minute. "But everyone they have targeted so far has a connection to magic school. Maybe it's better to keep her at the mansion. No one will know that she's there. Clyde doesn't know who you really are."

Beth was back and said, "What about my son? Is he safe at school?"

"He should be, because he's not the target, you are. But either way I'll go up there and check on him while I warn everyone about what happened. Chris, you take Beth home and work with Paige to find out about the knife."  
**************

Half an hour later Chris, Beth, and Paige had found a picture of the knife in the Book of Shadows. Paige read, "It's called an Athame. It's used exactly like Bonnie said it was used."

"The question is how did they get their hands on it?"

"I have no idea. It says the last time anyone saw one was over a hundred years ago."

Beth said, "If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to call Jason, and let him know I'm safe."

Chris said, "Sure, you can use the kitchen phone. I'll take you."

Flipping another page in the book, Paige said, "I'm gonna see what else I can find."

Before Chris and Beth could even make it down the stairs, Clyde and Furlow appeared in a cloud of dark specks on the stairway in front of them. Furlow shot Chris with a darklighter arrow. Chris felt sharp pain in his right shoulder, but still tried to reach Beth before Clyde did. But Clyde was closer, and Beth was stabbed through the heart before Chris even took one step. Chris stumbled and fell on the arrow driving it further into his shoulder, and he yelled out in pain. He looked up and saw the knife in Clyde's hand glowing red for a second, before Beth slumped down dead on the stairs. Furlow took aim again, but Clyde stopped him. "No. Save this one for later."

Furlow and Clyde disappeared in a speck of dark lights as Paige hurried down the stairs towards Chris. "Chris!? Chris!!"

She turned him over and saw the darklighter arrow sticking out of him. She looked over at Beth, and could tell by the unnatural twist of her neck that she was dead. Paige wished for the millionth time that she could heal, but it was of no use. She looked up and called, "Leo!"

She looked at Chris and said, "It's gonna be okay. Leo will heal you."

The pain was overpowering as it radiated from his shoulder and surged throughout his entire body. Chris nodded and said, "Pull the arrow out. The poison is getting in my system."

Paige grabbed the arrow near the wound and closed her eyes before giving a hard yank. Chris screamed in pain, and then after catching his breath he said, "Thanks."

They waited for Leo while Paige held a hand over the wound to try and stop the blood loss. She said, "How did they find us?"

"I don't know."

***************

Piper, Leo, and Gideon were all talking about Clyde when they heard a loud commotion in the hallway. All three went to take a look and had trouble believing what they were seeing. There in front of them were over twenty demons, all trying to kill as many witches as possible. Piper raised her hands and blew up the first one she saw, and Leo turned to Gideon as he said, "Keep an eye on Wyatt please."

Leo went to the first fallen body he could find and put his hands over the teen to heal him, but then felt Chris' pain. He knew Chris had been injured, and he heard Paige call for him, but there were kids being terrorized in font of him. He could tell from sensing Chris that he still had a few minutes before the wound was fatal, but the kids in front of him couldn't say the same. Leo healed the child in front of him, while his wife killed demon after demon with her powers. Other witches in the school joined Piper, and in a short amount of time the demons were out numbered.

Leo healed the five children that were the most seriously injured, before he said to Piper, "Chris needs me."

Piper flicked her hands at the last demon and watched him explode. "Go. We'll be fine for a few minuets."

****************

Paige looked around helplessly as Chris writhed in pain. She held her hands over the wound and tried without success to heal it. She called again, "LEO!!"

When he didn't immediately show up, Chris knew something was wrong at the school. He said with a grimace of pain, "Go help at school."

Close to tears, Paige said, "I'm not leaving you!"

Chris could feel the arrow taking it's toll. He waited a few minutes, but when Leo still hadn't shown up, Chris said, "Paige?"

Paige had trouble hearing him, because his voice was strained with pain. She leaned her ear down to his mouth and said, "What Chris honey?"

Chris had always known that his mission could very well end in his death. The only thing he wanted to make sure of was that his death wasn't in vain. He wanted to make sure his family all worked together to stop the horrific future he had come from. He whispered, "Only one month left. Wyatt's turned before I'm born."

With those words Chris passed out from the pain. Paige yelled, "Chris?! Chris you stay with me now! LEO!!"

Leo appeared in the nick of time, and held a hand over the entrance wound. Paige had tears running down her face as she said, "What took you so long?"

"Demons attacking magic school. Kids to heal."

She looked down at her own useless hands and said with dismay, "Why can't I heal?"

Leo kept his concentration on Chris, and on healing, but he said, "It will come with time Paige."

Paige gestured to Chris and said, "Time? Chris was almost out of time!"

Leo didn't respond, and concentrated on the task at hand. A few seconds later Chris opened his eyes. "Dad?"

"Lie still Chris."

"It hurts."

"I know. Lie still, I'm fixing it."

A good two minutes later Chris was back to normal. Leo stopped healing and put a hand on Chris' face, just needing the contact after coming so close to losing him. He said, "I have more kids to heal at magic school."

Understanding, Chris said, "Go. I'm fine."

Leo orbed while Chris sat up and was immediately hugged by his aunt. Chris was somewhat surprised and patted her back a couple of times. "I'm fine. It's okay."

After Paige had a few seconds to calm down she let herself get angry about what Chris had divulged. She let him go but kept one hand on his shoulder, "One month left?"

Chris blushed and looked away. "Yeah."

Shaking her head Paige said, "Why didn't you tell us?"

Chris shrugged and found himself unable to answer. Paige looked down at Beth's body. She said, "Okay, we'll talk about it later. Right now, we need to orb her back home, call Jason and her son, and find out how the hell Clyde knew where we were."

Happy to prolong that discussion Chris added, "And where the hell he got not only one, but two Athame's."

"So he can be invisible now?"

Chris nodded. Then he waved a hand in Beth's direction, and orbed her body back to her own house. He said, "I'll go tell Jason and bring him to magic school. You tell her son, and take Beth's Athame to Gideon. Maybe he'll know where they got them."

*********

A few minutes later the whole family was at magic school. Jason and Beth's son were comforting each other as best they could. Gideon, who had no new information on the Athame, was trying to keep his teachers and students calm. And the Halliwell's were all in a conference room trying to figure out what had happened. Paige told everyone how Chris had been shot, and almost died, but didn't mention that he had told her there was only one month left to save Wyatt, for which Chris was grateful. He found himself hugged by both his parents, and then a few seconds later by Phoebe. When Phoebe pulled away from him, she exclaimed, "Ow!"

He gave her a confused look. "What?"

She held up her hand, and he could see a dot of blood on the third finger of her right hand. "You have something sharp on your shirt."

Frowning, Chris turned to try and look at as much of his back as he could. Phoebe walked behind him and looked closely at his back. By the neck of his shirt, right under his hair she found what had poked her finger. It was a black piece of metal about the size of a marble but square with sharp edges. "What's this?"

Chris held out his hand, and Phoebe put a little black piece of metal in Chris' hand. He examined it and said, "I'm not sure."

Leo held out his hand for it, and Chris gave it to him. A few seconds later he said, "It's a locator chip."

Paige said, "That's how they knew where you were!"

"But when did they put it on me?"

Everyone thought that over, and then Paige said, "It must have been right before they sent you to Beth's house. Did anyone touch you before you left with Bonnie?"

Nodding slowly Chris said, "Yeah, Clyde patted me on the back right before we left."

Leo closed his hand around the chip, and some white sparks came out from in between the fingers of his fisted hand for a second. When he opened his hand the chip was gone.

Piper said, "Now we know how it happened, but that still leaves us with what are we going to do about it?"

"Clyde had quite a few followers, and he's pissed about Bonnie." Chris said.

Paige looked at him; "It'll be tough to get to him if it's just the two of us trying to vanquish him."

Piper said, "Why just the two of you. I'll come."

Shaking his head Chris said, "Clyde is after Wyatt. Out of all of us, you're the most powerful and the most likely to be able to save him if something happens. You need to stay and protect him."

Leo said, "I agree."

Phoebe piped in, "What about me?"

There was a small silence and then Paige said, "Honey, you don't have any powers right now."

"Well Clyde was stealing them with this right?" Phoebe picked up the Athame, which Paige had set on the conference table.

"Yeah."

Phoebe said with enthusiasm, "Is there any way to get rid of the powers once you steal them? I mean if I went down there, and stole some demon powers long enough to join in the fight, could I get rid of them again once we were done?"

Smiling Paige said, "That's a pretty good idea, but to get rid of them you'd have to get stabbed."

Phoebe shrugged, "Leo could heal me right after…. But what about my powers?"

Leo said, "Since they're not active right now, there's nothing for the Athame to take from you."

Chris looked at Leo and said, "She is the best of the three at hand to hand combat."

Nodding Leo said, "Okay Phoebe. You get the knife, and as soon as you get some powers, you use them to kill Clyde. Paige, Chris, and I will be there to back you up, and make sure you have a clear shot at him."

Phoebe asked, "Okay, but how am I going to see him if he can turn invisible?"

Piper picked up Wyatt who was starting to get cranky in his stroller and said, "What about a spell to see heat?"

"We wouldn't even need a spell for that, we could just go to a sporting goods store and get some goggles." Chris added.

Piper got out some paper and started writing. "That would be expensive. Let's see what I can come up with."

Chris decided not to mention that he hadn't planned to buy them.

******************

Clyde was gathering his followers, and working them into a frenzy. Paige, Chris, Leo and Phoebe almost went unnoticed when the orbed into Clyde's 'house'. Clyde was yelling to be heard by everyone, "We must strike now, before they can gather their forces! We must get the child, take his power, and make it our own!"

While several demons cheered Phoebe yelled, "Hey!"

The demons around her turned to look. She stabbed the closest one and then turned to look at Clyde, "Our forces are already here."

A fireball appeared in her hand and she tossed it in Clyde's direction. To everyone else in the room Clyde disappeared before the fireball could reach him, but Phoebe could clearly see where he was from the heat he was giving off.

The demons started to attack. Leo waved his hand and orbed demons out of the room two at a time, to get them out of their way. Chris used his telekinesis to fling demons out of Phoebe's way, so she could get closer to the front of the room where he assumed Clyde still was. Phoebe tossed fireballs or stabbed every demon that came close to her as she made her way to the front of the room. Paige looked for weapons in the crowd of demons and called the weapons to her before they could be used, starting with all the darklighter's crossbows.

Phoebe saw Clyde trying to escape out a side door. While his back was to her, she flung a fireball at him. She heard the satisfying sound of him screaming as he went up in flames and disappeared entirely, heat and all. She started flinging as many fireballs as she could produce in every direction, to kill as many demons as she could before they escaped.

Two minutes after the fight started it was over. When there were five demons left alive with no way to escape, Phoebe went up to them and said, "You tell everyone in the underworld, this is what happens when you threaten our family, especially our babies. The next time we hear even a hint of someone coming for us, we're going to exterminate you. Do you understand."

There were nods from the demons. Phoebe said, "Get out."

She moved aside so they could leave, and as they were walking out the door, she killed two more of them. Once the other three were gone she turned to her family and said, "Ready to go home?"

Leo held out his hand to her, so he could orb her, but she shook her head and said, "No thanks, I've got it covered."

Phoebe shimmered out, and Paige said, "Wow. I wonder how many powers she has?"

Leo said, "Too many. We need to get them out of her quick. The demon powers have already started to feed on her darker thoughts. We need to remove them."

With a hint of a smile Chris said, "I'd be happy to stab her."

Smiling Leo said, "Sorry, then the powers would just transfer to you. Do either of you see the Athame that Clyde was using? We need to find it before another demon does."

Paige went up to the front of the room and found it on the floor. "Here it is."

Leo said, "Good. Grab it and let's go home and take care of Phoebe."

Chris, Paige, and Leo all orbed to the mansion and found Phoebe pacing around the living room with a maniacal grin on her face. Once she saw them she said, "Was that the coolest thing or what? Did you see me kicking ass?! Man what a rush! I want to do that every night!"

Leo held out his hand and said mildly, "Can I see that knife Phoebe?"

She handed it over, "Sure. Did you see the way they all ran from me like scared little…OW!"

Leo felt bad for stabbing her without warning, but in her current state, she might have fought him. She looked up at him with shock in her face as she felt the power drain from her. He yanked the Athame out, and caught her with one arm before she could fall to the ground. He kneeled down still holding her, set the Athame on the ground beside them, put a hand over her heart where he had stabbed her, and healed her before she could die.

Once she was back to normal she looked at Leo who was still holding her and accused, "You stabbed me."

Helping her stand up Leo said, "Sorry about that. I'm the only one here who isn't a witch or a demon."

"So where did the powers go?" Chris asked.

Leo held up the Athame. "Still in here. We'll need to do a spell to release the powers safely."

Paige held hers up and said, "Then what do we do with them?"

Leo said, "It would probably be best to give them to Gideon for safe keeping. Let's go tell Piper and Gideon that it's over."

Holding out his hand to Phoebe, Leo smiled. Phoebe put her hand in his and let him orb her to magic school. Chris and Paige orbed as well. Gideon, Piper, and Wyatt were all in the conference room waiting for them.

* * *

Once Phoebe had described the whole thing to Piper and Gideon, Gideon said, "Then it's over."

"What's over?" Piper asked.

"The threat to Wyatt." Gideon turned to Chris and continued, "You came back to save Wyatt from turning evil, and now you've succeeded."

Shaking his head Chris said, "We can't be sure that this was what had turned him."

Gideon stood as he spoke, "Let's look at the facts. We know Wyatt was turned early in life. Sometime before Chris can remember, so it has to be before Chris turned three. And we…."

Paige cleared her throat loudly to interrupt. Gideon looked at her to see what she wanted to say. Paige looked at Chris and said, "Are you going to tell them or am I?"

Chris felt as though he couldn't breath in that moment. Looking around the room quickly he stammered, "Tell them?… Um… Tell them what?"

Looking slightly disappointed Paige said, "Wyatt is turned evil before Chris is born."

The room was in an uproar with several people talking at once. Paige held up her hand and yelled, "Hey! Give me a second to explain."

Everyone quieted down. Chris crossed his arms defensively and found his feet interesting while Paige said, "When Chris was shot with the darklighter arrow, we didn't think Leo was going to make it in time. With what would have been Chris' dying breath, he told me Wyatt is turned before Chris is born."

Chris could feel the eyes on him, even if he wasn't looking back. After a few minutes of silence, Piper said, "Chris, is this true?"

Keeping his head down he said, "Yes."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a minute, and then Gideon continued, "That just proves my point. Clyde was after Wyatt, and if Chris hadn't been here, he very well might have succeeded in taking him. What if we hadn't been vigilant about watching Wyatt's every move? What if we hadn't known ahead of time what Clyde had been up to? Piper and Wyatt wouldn't have been living here, and would have been more vulnerable to attack."

Piper said, "But how could Clyde have gotten to Wyatt? Even if Clyde had a bunch of powers, Wyatt still has his protective bubble."

Gideon had an answer, "Yes, but that fact has most likely become common knowledge in the underworld, and they will be trying to find ways to break it. And as we know, Wyatt didn't die or lose his powers, which was Clyde's goal. But maybe in the process of trying to remove the bubble and take Wyatt's powers, Clyde turned him evil instead."

Having gotten over his initial embarrassment, Chris joined the conversation, "No, this can't be what turned Wyatt, because the whole reason Clyde had so many demons rallying around him, was because I've killed so many demons since being here."

Phoebe joined in, "That's not necessarily true Chris. The underworld tries to rise up every couple of years, and it's been a while. And anytime one person starts the movement; there are always demons willing to join in. I guess the real question is what set Clyde off."

Leo said, "When we first saw him, he said his brother had been killed, just for being a demon. That was why he started looking for a way to take powers."

Chris added, "And that's how he met Bonnie too. Her whole family had been killed. So we need to find out who killed them. If it was me, then this was a reaction to me being here, and not what originally turned Wyatt."

Thinking that over, Gideon nodded, "You're right. We'll need to investigate. But for now I need to see to my students and teachers, and let them know that this crisis is over. See what you can find and we'll meet here again tomorrow morning to discuss it further."

Gideon left and Phoebe said, "I need to finish up a few things at work, and it's getting late."

Paige said, "I'll take you back, and then I can go to the underworld and look through Clyde's house before any of the demons decide it's safe to go back. See if I can find anything that will help us find out who his brother was, or who Bonnie's family was."

Chris nodded, "That's a good idea. I'll meet you there."

Leo put a hand on Chris' shoulder and said to Paige, "We'll meet you there a little later."

With his stomach churning and his face turning pink Chris thought about the implications of that comment and waited for his aunts to leave. Paige nodded in understanding, held out her hand for Phoebe, and orbed the two of them away.

Once they were gone the room was silent for a few seconds. Piper and Leo shared a look, but Chris kept his eyes on the ground waiting. Piper broke the silence, "Why didn't you tell us Chris?"

That was a complicated thing to answer, so Chris shrugged as if he didn't know instead of answering. Leo was already upset that Chris had kept things from them again, and then to have him shrug, as if the question wasn't a serious one, was too much. He let go of Chris' shoulder and gave him a swat. "Answer your mother."

Chris turned slightly to get his butt out of harms way and backed up a few steps. "That's why!"

Piper glared, "What do you mean 'that's why'? You owe us an explanation."

Chris looked off into the distance, thinking about how to start. He saw Leo start to move towards him out of the corner of his eye and started talking; "When I first got here I was hiding everything from you. Then when you found out I was your son; I didn't trust you enough to tell you. I wasn't sure if giving you that information would backfire and make thing worse somehow."

There was a pause and Leo said, "We've been working on trust and working together over the past two months. In all that time it didn't occur to you to tell us?"

"It did… And I trust you more now then I have since I was a little kid….."

"So why didn't you tell us?" Piper asked again.

"Over the past two weeks I've been thinking about it a lot. I've wanted to tell you… but if I told you then you'd know that I had kept something important from you, which Dad says is the same as a lie, and I was worried that he'd….. well… I was worried about his reaction."

Piper and Leo gave each other a slightly confused look. Leo looked back at Chris and asked, "You were worried that I'd spank you?"

Cringing at the word, Chris nodded and said, "I know, it's stupid…. And not a good reason to keep something from you…..I just…. I'm sorry."

Leo couldn't help but feel guilty. He hated spanking Chris, and if spanking him had made Chris somehow afraid of him, then it had been a bad plan from the start. Shaking his head Leo walked up to Chris, who swallowed hard. Leo pulled Chris into a hug and said, "No, I'm the one who's sorry."

Not expecting this reaction, Chris pulled away to see Leo's face. "You're sorry? What are you sorry about?"

Leo put both his hands on Chris' shoulders and looked in his eyes. "First off, let me tell you that if you'd come to me and told me about this at any time over the past two months, I would not have spanked you. I would have been happy that you were trusting me, and that would have been the end of it. Do you believe me?"

Feeling both embarrassed and nervous, Chris cursed himself for having kept it to himself instead of confessing. He said quietly, "Yes."

Leo continued, "And I'm sorry that by spanking you in the first place, I've made you afraid to come to me. So from this point on, there will be no more spanking."

Chris was so shocked that he didn't quite know what to say. After a pause he said, "Really?"

Pulling Chris into a hug Leo said, "I never want you to be afraid of me Chris. And I never want you to worry that you can't come and tell me something. I'm not saying there won't be some kind of punishment, but if spanking is so traumatic for you that you've kept this from us, then it's wrong for me to do it."

Chris hugged Leo back and whispered, "Thanks Dad."

Patting Chris' back a few times, Leo let him go and looked over at Piper to get her reaction. She waited for Chris to look at her and said, "I won't promise not to swat you in the moment if you're really out of line, but I'll try hard not to."

Chris said, "Thanks Mom." and took a deep breath to try and calm himself down. He thought his anxiety over the whole thing should be gone now, but he found his stomach was still churning, and he still felt jumpy.

Piper walked over and gave Chris a hug as well. She said, "We love you Chris."

He hugged her back and said, "I love you guys too."

Piper let him go and looked at Leo. Leo said, "I guess we should go meet Paige and search Clyde's house."

Chris not quite believing that was the end of it said, "Now? I mean there's nothing else you want to say before we go?"

Leo put a hand on Chris' shoulder again and said, "I'm not going to punish you for being afraid to come to me if that's what you're getting at Chris. I think worrying over it so much for the past few weeks was punishment enough."

Chris thought he should be elated with this news, and couldn't understand why what he felt most was nervous uncertainty. Frowning Chris said, "Oh. Okay."

Leo looked at Piper and said, "We'll see you later tonight for dinner once we're done investigating."

"Okay. Be careful."

* * *

Gideon stepped into his office after having calmed the students and teachers as much as possible, and letting them know the immediate threat was over. He walked over to a curtain, which was against one wall, and pulled it back to expose a mirror. He looked in the mirror and saw an image of himself, but the reflected image was slightly different. Gideon looked at himself and said, "We need to make sure the evidence leads the Charmed ones to believe this was the threat to Wyatt."

Reflected Gideon had stood still while Gideon spoke, and now he responded, "I concur. We'll need to plant evidence."

Gideon nodded and said, "It has to be a demon that Piper, Paige, or Phoebe killed. And it has to be in the correct time frame."

Reflected Gideon said, "Lucky for us Leo confides in us, and tells us who they have been after lately."

Gideon asked, "What if they find evidence that Chris was the one who killed Clyde's brother?"

Both Gideon's got out a packet of white powder at the same time and held it up. Reflected Gideon said, "We must move quickly before they find something. White powder isn't always successful on a half whitelighter half witch."

Gideon thought about it for a second, and soon he said, "We'll need a distraction. Something to get everyone at the school for fifteen minutes. That should be enough time to plant the evidence."

Both Gideon's held up their hands and soon a photo of a demon Paige had killed about six months ago appeared. They both said, "Talk to you soon." and pulled the curtain back in place.

* * *

Gideon found Piper and Wyatt in the conference room. Wyatt was playing quietly in his playpen, and Piper was looking through some old books that talked about the origin of Athames. Positioning himself so that Piper would have to look away from Wyatt to speak with him, Gideon said, "How is it coming?"

Turning her body to see him Piper said, "I haven't found anything new yet."

Gideon looked down at the book and said, "Have you tried looking up power draining devices instead of Athames?"

Piper flipped through the pages of the book for a few minutes, and while she wasn't looking, Gideon waved his hand and orbed Wyatt to his nursery in the mansion. Wyatt looked around and found a plate with some cookies and a sippy cup of milk on the floor. He toddled over, sat down, and started to eat.

As soon as Gideon orbed Wyatt away he said, "Piper!"

Startled she looked up at him. "What?!"

Gideon pointed to the empty playpen. Piper stood as quickly as her eight-month pregnant body would let her, and walked towards the empty playpen. She yelled with panic, "Wyatt?!"

Wyatt heard his mother, but he knew she wouldn't let him keep all the cookies to himself, and stayed where he was while he ate. Piper looked around frantically, "Wyatt?!"

Gideon said, "Call Leo. I'll go check the daycare to see if he orbed there."

Piper yelled, "Leo!" as Gideon orbed away.

Gideon orbed to the mansion, and smiled at Wyatt. He said, "Hello Wyatt, are they good cookies?"

Wyatt smiled back and said, "Ookie."

Gideon walked over and picked up a cookie in one hand, and held it out to Wyatt. Wyatt already had a cookie in each hand, and just watched Gideon. Gideon asked, "Want to come with me? I'll hold this one for you."

Wyatt got up and walked over to Gideon. Gideon did a good job of suppressing his shudder as he picked the toddler up, and even managed another smile for him. He orbed himself and Wyatt to the underworld close to Clyde's house, hoping that Leo was already at Piper's side and trying to sense Wyatt.

* * *

Leo and Chris showed up at Clyde's house and saw that Paige was already going through the wreckage. She looked surprised to see them so soon, but just said, "I just started, but I haven't found anything yet."

They searched for the next five minutes. Then Leo heard Piper's frantic yell for him. He said, "Piper needs us." and all three of them orbed back to magic school.

Piper started in before they had finished materializing in front of her. "Wyatt was in his playpen, and then two seconds later he was just gone. He never orbs without me unless something's wrong! I've called him but he won't come. I don't know where he is!"

Paige looked stricken and said, "Oh no."

Chris closed his eyes and tried to sense his brother, and Leo did the same after putting an arm around Piper to comfort her. A few seconds later Chris and Leo looked at each other with worry. Leo said, "We can't sense him."

Piper pushed away from Leo. "What! But… why…. how…."

Leo called out, "Wyatt! Come to Daddy Wyatt!"

Paige called out, "Wyatt honey, come orb to us!"

Chris closed his eyes and tried to sense him again. He said, "Dad?"

Leo looked over at Chris. "From as early as I can remember Wyatt was able to block everyone from sensing him, but I don't have any memories from before Wyatt is about four. I wouldn't think he could do it yet but… who knows."

Piper shook her head, "But why? Why would he want to? It doesn't make sense."

Chris thought for a second and said, "Or he could be in the underworld. We wouldn't be able to sense him very well there, and he's so young he wouldn't be able to hear us call very well either."

Piper was near tears, "What should we do?"

Gideon orbed in with Wyatt in his arms. Piper rushed to them and took Wyatt out of Gideon's arms. Piper hugged Wyatt close and did start to cry as she said, "Wyatt sweetie, you're okay. I was so worried."

Leo wrapped his arms around both Piper and Wyatt and they stayed like that for a few seconds. Chris turned to Gideon and asked, "What happened?"

Gideon said, "I looked for him in the daycare center here, but didn't find him. Then I decided to try your house. He was in the kitchen, getting some of these." Gideon held up a cookie. "It took some convincing to get him to come home."

Leo let go of Piper and looked at Wyatt. Wyatt had cookie crumbs on his face, a whole cookie in one hand, and a half eaten cookie in the other. Wyatt smiled at Leo and said, "Da da." Piper and Leo shared a concerned look.

Gideon wanting to make a hasty exit before anyone could ask him questions said, "I'm sorry I have to go, but I'm late to teach a class."

Piper said, "Thank you so much for finding him Gideon."

Leo added his thanks as well and Gideon left.

Paige walked over and kissed Wyatt on the head, happy to have him back safely. Knowing that Piper would need time to calm down after that shock, and knowing that Leo and Chris would be the best people to help Piper calm down, Paige said, "I'm going to keep searching Clyde's house. I'll let you all know if I find anything."

Leo said, "Thanks Paige. We'll be there in a little while."

Once Paige was gone Piper turned to Leo and asked him, "Do you think Wyatt can block us already?"

Running a hand through his hair in frustration Leo said, "I just don't know."

Piper looked at Chris who shrugged, "I don't know either, and if he is, he might be too young to realize what he's actually doing."

Turning to Wyatt Piper asked, "Did you hear mommy call you?"

Wyatt nodded while smiling and held up his cookie. "Ookie."

Piper was putting things together in her head. She turned to Leo and said with some disbelief, "He orbed home to get cookies, ignored us when we called, and then blocked us so we couldn't sense him."

Piper didn't wait for Leo's response to that. She walked over and sat Wyatt down on a nearby chair, and took both cookies out of his hands. Wyatt frowned and said, "Mine."

With a frown of her own Piper said, "Wyatt Halliwell, you don't orb home without mommy, and you don't get cookies for yourself. You come back to us when we call you, and you don't block us when we're trying to find you. You can stay right there for a minute, because you're in time out."

Wyatt just looked confused for a second, having no idea what a time out was or what his mother was talking about. Then he focused on what was important to him and orbed the cookies out of Piper's hands and back to his own. "Mine."

Piper just looked at Wyatt for a second, not quite believing what he had just done. Leo walked up to Wyatt, took the cookies back out of his hands and said firmly, "No."

Wyatt looked at Leo for a second and then burst into tears. Wyatt looked over at Piper through his tears and held his hands up to her, wanting to be picked up. Though she found it extremely difficult, Piper crossed her arms and said quietly, "No Wyatt. You stay there for a minute. Orbing home by yourself is not okay."

Wyatt cried harder and called out, "Mama." a few times through his tears.

Ten seconds later Piper couldn't take it anymore and scooped him up into a tight hug and said, "Okay, no more time out."

Leo threw the cookies away while Piper tried to calm Wyatt down. Wyatt was disconsolate for a few minutes, while Piper held him, rubbed his back, and murmured soothing comments to him.

Chris, who had watched the exchange between his parents and brother, found his emotions in an uproar. During his childhood Wyatt had always been seen as the good child. Chris had never once seen Wyatt in trouble, because he had perfected hiding his evil tendencies at an early age. Even when Wyatt finally showed his evil side at 16, Chris never saw Wyatt in trouble, because his parents were busy trying to cure him, not grounding him and telling him he'd been bad. Chris had always been the one in trouble, usually for 'lying', which meant he was actually being honest about things Wyatt had done. When he was very young he'd been put in time out for that multiple times, and as he got older he'd been grounded for it as well. He didn't stop getting into trouble until he learned to perfect his lying skills.

So as Chris stood and watched his parents tell Wyatt no and put him in a time out, Chris was immediately empathetic to Wyatt and felt sorry for him, especially since his parents were assuming they knew what had happened instead of knowing it for a fact. But then at the same time Chris felt some satisfaction in seeing them upset with something Wyatt had done instead of something he had done.

But mostly Chris was unexpectedly jealous. He shook his head once, trying to deny it to himself, but couldn't. Because of his powers, Wyatt had been the center of attention for the family even before he turned evil, but once Chris was sent to live with his Grandfather he'd felt practically invisible to his father and aunts. And in the here and now Chris felt that way again as he watched Leo take Wyatt from Piper to give him some comfort. And even though logically he knew his jealousy was irrational, he just couldn't watch his parents with Wyatt anymore right then. He muttered, "I'm gonna go help Paige." and orbed to Clyde's house to help look for clues.

*****************

Paige saw Chris orb in and said, "That was fast." while looking for Leo.

Chris said, "Mom and Dad are still busy. I'm here to help you."

Giving him a smile Paige said, "Great. I'm just finishing up here in the bedroom, and then the only room left to search will be the bathroom."

Chris felt somewhat better knowing he could help, and seeing that Paige was glad to see him. "I'll go look in the bathroom then."

A few minutes later Paige called to Chris. Chris came out of the bathroom and saw Paige had pulled a small cardboard box out from under the bed. In it she had found some photos, and she recognized both Clyde and the demon she had killed a few months ago who was obviously his brother. She held the pictures up to Chris and said, "Looks like I'm the one who set Clyde off. I remember this demon. I vanquished him."

Looking at the pictures Chris said, "Wow…. I guess Gideon was right."

Paige put a hand on Chris' shoulder and said, "That's a good thing right? That means this was what turned Wyatt evil the first time."

Chris looked at Paige and said with wonder in his voice, "That's right, it does."

Smiling at each other, they hugged in excitement and then Paige said, "We have to tell Piper and Leo!"

Chris' smile faltered as he let Paige go. He said, "Let's give them a little more time, and see if we can find anything else here before we head back to magic school."

Nodding Paige said, "Good idea."

Ten minutes later Chris and Paige had finished searching the house, and hadn't found anything else of use. They were wondering if they should go to magic school or back to the mansion when Leo orbed in. Paige held up the photo and said, "Look what we found."

* * *

That night everyone including Gideon had a celebratory dinner at the mansion. They had gone over what they had found, and they were all convinced that this was what had originally turned Wyatt evil. Once the meal started Gideon said, "Now that you've succeeded in your mission, we'll need to work on a way to get you home safely."

The fork stopped half way to Chris' mouth. He lowered it as he realized Gideon was right. Piper said, "We have a month before little you is born. That will give us plenty of time to come up with a spell to get you back to the future."

Chris looked somewhat worried, "But what future will it be?"

Leo was sitting next to Chris. He put a hand on his shoulder and said, "A better one."

Paige said, "And since you don't have to be so focused on hunting, and saving Wyatt, you can actually relax a little and spend some quality time with all of us."

Chris wasn't even sure how to do that, let alone how to respond to it. He nodded and put some food in his mouth. Then he swallowed and changed the subject. He looked over at his mom and said, "Now that the threat is over, Mom and Wyatt can move back home."

Leo and Piper looked at each other. She said, "Yeah, I guess we can."

Leo knew they needed to talk about what that meant for them. Leo had been sleeping in their old bed while Piper was away, but with her coming home he wasn't sure if he should move to the couch or stay in the bed. Turning slightly pink and giving Piper an unsure smile, Leo said, "We can move you two back home tomorrow."

Wanting to change the subject, Leo saw that Wyatt was done eating and went to pick him up. He playfully gave him a small tickle and said, "That means you get to come home too."

Wyatt laughed and clapped his hands. Piper said, "I was thinking about what happened with Wyatt today. Maybe tonight we should all stay here and practice having Wyatt orb to us when we call him. We could each go to a separate room, and then take turns calling him. I want to make it automatic for him to come to us when we call."

Leo smiled at her. "That's a great idea Piper. We'll do it as soon as everyone is done eating."

Leo sat down with Wyatt on his lap so he could finish some more of his food. Wyatt was content to stay where he was until the meal was over.

No one noticed that Chris wasn't eating much, and was actually just moving the food around on his plate. He was lost in his own thoughts and couldn't take the time to eat. What would he do with free time? He didn't know how to just be part of the family without some kind of mission to go on. And the thought of going back to his own time was terrifying because of the uncertainty of what awaited him there.

Chris looked at Wyatt sitting on Leo's lap, and at Piper who was on the other side of Leo who was looking at Wyatt with love while she smoothed his hair down around his ear. He suddenly pictured a future where Wyatt was good instead of evil, but was still the center of the entire family with Chris as the loved but shoved aside little brother. Chris couldn't watch them fawning over Wyatt anymore. He pushed his food away and said, "I'm done. I'll take Wyatt into the living room to play for a while until you're ready to have him practice orbing."

Smiling Leo handed Wyatt over to Chris and said, "Thanks."

Chris carried Wyatt into the living room and got out some of his toys. He set Wyatt down in the middle of the toys expecting him to play, so he could continue to picture various awful futures in peace. Wyatt had other ideas and pulled at Chris' pant leg, "Iis."

Chris looked down and said with annoyance, "What?"

Wyatt held up a toy car and made the sound, "Rumm rumm."

Sighing Chris said, "You want me to play cars?"

Wyatt put the car in Chris' hand. Chris gave in and sat on the floor with his legs crossed. He moved the car around on the floor and made car noises for Wyatt. Wyatt climbed into Chris' lap and pushed another car on the floor next to his. Chris looked down at Wyatt who looked up at him with a smile. Chris couldn't help but smile back. He said, "You know what Wyatt?"

Wyatt looked at him waiting to hear what he would say, and Chris could tell from his expression that Wyatt not only trusted him but loved him too. Chris shook his head and wondered if that trust was misguided. "If you stay as sweet as you are right now, maybe the future won't be so bad to go back to…"

Chris looked away and said, "…and if the whole family is happy and still together and alive… then that's what's important. It shouldn't matter to me that you'll still be the center of attention."

Impatient with the talking, Wyatt put his hand over Chris' hand and made the car move. "Okay, okay, I'll play."

Ten minutes later the rest of the family came in along with Gideon. Leo said, "Thanks for all the help Gideon. We appreciate your friendship."

Gideon said, "I'll be there tomorrow to help you move Piper back home, and as soon as we get Chris back to his own time, we really should discuss you resuming your duties as an Elder."

Leo nodded, knowing it was something he had to think about and decide on. Gideon orbed away.

"Are you all ready to help Wyatt practice orbing?" Piper asked.

Piper, Leo, Chris, Phoebe, and Paige all went into separate rooms, and then in one-minute intervals they took turns calling to Wyatt. Wyatt orbed with encouragement from whichever adult he was with. After fifteen minutes they called it a night.

Piper and Leo both told Wyatt what a good boy he had been and Leo orbed Piper and Wyatt back to magic school for the night. They put him to bed together, and then walked out to the living room. There was an uncomfortable silence until Leo said, "Chris and I will be here first thing in the morning to help you move."

"Thanks."

After another pause Leo said, "Piper…."

"Yes?"

"I think we need to talk about us."

Piper went to sit on the couch and gestured to the spot next to her. Leo sat down as well, but wasn't sure where to start. Piper said, "You've been sleeping in our bed since I've been here."

Nodding Leo said, "True, but if you don't want me to stay, I can just sleep on….."

Piper put her hand over Leo's mouth to stop him. She leaned in and gave him a kiss. He was surprised, but very quickly leaned in and kissed her back. A few minutes later they broke apart, both breathless from the kiss. He said, "I'm still an Elder."

Piper shook her head. "I don't care right now. If we only have until Chris is back in his own time, then so be it. I'll take what I can get. You're still my husband, and I'm still in love with you."

"I'm still in love with you too."

After a few minutes of kissing Leo looked down at the couch and said with a smile, "I think this couch pulls out into a bed… if you're interested."

Piper looked down at her belly. "I'm huge. How could _you_ be interested?"

He kissed her belly and said, "You're carrying our baby. I think you're beautiful."

Smiling Piper said, "You're either a very smooth liar, or you actually mean that."

"You know I mean it."

She pushed herself to standing with a little help from Leo. He looked unsure of what she was doing so she said, "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's see the bed."

* * *

Chris watched Leo, Piper, and Wyatt orb back to magic school and was jealous again. He was annoyed with himself and decided he needed a distraction. He went to look for one of his aunts. He found Phoebe in the kitchen. "Hey Phoebe?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going out to P3 for a while to see the band."

"Okay."

Chris orbed and was soon at the club his mom owned. He ordered a beer and sat down at a small table by himself. He took a sip of the beer, set it down, and sat staring at the people around him for the next three hours without actually noticing any of them. He spent his time thinking about the past, the present, and the future, and wondering what changes he had caused in his own timeline. He also thought a lot about his relationship with his brother and with his parents, and the more he thought about that, the more he wanted to drink. Six beers later Chris decided he needed to talk to Leo.

He stumbled into the bathroom, and made sure it was empty before he orbed home to his room. Once he was there, he kicked off his shoes and sat down on his bed. He quietly called, "Dad."

Leo woke instantly and knew Chris wanted him. He looked at Piper who was asleep in his arms on the sofa bed. He kissed the top of her head and said, "Piper?"

She woke up and said, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. But Chris needs me, so I'm going to go talk to him."

Piper nodded and said, "I'll go sleep in the bedroom with Wyatt for the rest of the night. I'll see you in the morning."

He gave her a kiss on the lips and said, "And I'll see you tomorrow night as well."

He got out of bed, gathered his clothes from off the floor, put them on, and orbed to Chris' room. Chris looked up at Leo and said, "Were you asleep?"

"Yeah. What did you need…" Leo wrinkled his nose at the smell in the bedroom and said, "…have you been drinking?"

"Yeah. A lot."

"Well that's… different."

"I have to tell you something."

Leo sat down on the bed next to Chris and said, "Okay."

"I lied."

After waiting a few seconds Leo said, "What did you lie about?"

"I'm not afraid of you spanking me. That's not why I didn't tell you there was only one month left. I let myself believe that, but it's not true."

Not sure if he should be relieved or angry Leo asked, "Okay, then why didn't you tell me?"

"I've been thinking about that all night. I wondered if I was just afraid to put my full trust in you, but I don't think that's it. Then I wondered if it was because it was the last big secret I had, and then once it was out, we would be on level playing ground which could be scary. But I don't think that's it either. I think the truth is I wanted you to find out."

Leo couldn't understand that. "But why?"

With some tears in his eyes Chris said, "Because I'm going back soon, and I don't know what future I'm going back to. I know what you were like in the future I came from, and I don't want things to be like that anymore. And because I know what you're like now, maybe a part of me wanted you to prove that you cared one more time before I left. Maybe I wanted to be the center of attention for a little while even if it was negative attention. I don't want to be in the background anymore. I don't want to be invisible to you again. Do you think that makes me selfish?"

Feeling tears welling up in his own eyes, Leo pulled Chris into a tight hug and said, "No Chris. I don't think it makes you selfish. And I promise you that you'll never be invisible to me, especially now that you've told me that was how you felt before."

Hugging Leo tightly Chris said, "I am selfish. I've been jealous of my two-year-old brother all day instead of being happy that he's not going to turn evil. I should be happy that I'm going back to a future that will be better for everyone, not worrying over my place in it."

Leo pulled away and put his hands on the sides of Chris' face so he could look at him. He wiped a couple of tears off Chris' face with his thumbs and said, "It's not selfish to worry about your own future, and it's not selfish of you to be jealous of Wyatt. After the life you had it's only natural for you to feel both things. Don't beat yourself up about having normal human feelings Chris."

Giving Leo a small shrug Chris said, "I can't help it."

Leo put an arm around Chris' shoulders and thought about it for a few minutes. Then he said, "You know what I think?"

Chris shook his head and Leo continued. "I think I'm going to break my promise."

Leo felt Chris' body tense up at those words, but he kept talking anyway. "When you told me you were scared to come to me because I'd spank you, I was horrified that I'd made you afraid of me, and more then a little relieved that I wouldn't have to do it again. But now I see that deciding not to spank you anymore was the wrong thing to do, because you're wallowing in guilt and worrying that I don't love you."

Shaking his head Chris said, "No, I know you love me."

"But you're worried I won't twenty two years from now."

Looking at his lap Chris said, "Well…Twenty two years is a long time. Who knows what will happen between now and then."

Leo used the arm that was wrapped around Chris' shoulders to push him somewhat gently over his lap as he said, "Twenty two years isn't that long. It's gone in the blink of an eye, and I know I'll still love you."

Chris didn't resist knowing he had asked for this, but that didn't make it easy to take. He shook his head, wanting to deny it, and said, "Dad… I…"

Leo started spanking, but didn't put that much force behind the blows. Chris remained silent after an initial grunt with the first swat. After twenty swats Leo pulled Chris back up and sat him down beside him. Seeing the confused look that Chris was giving him, Leo said, "That was just to prove that I love you, and to help you sleep. We'll talk about your lying and your guilt tomorrow after your hangover is gone. Though I'd bet money that you won't be as amiable about the whole thing once that buzz you've got going is gone."

Getting defensive Chris said, "I'm not drunk."

Leo patted Chris' back and stood up. "You're not falling down drunk, but your not entirely sober either. Go to sleep son. We have a busy day tomorrow moving your mom and Wyatt back home."

Chris didn't bother taking his clothes off and just lay down on his bed the way he was. He asked, "What are you going to do about Mom moving back in?"

"I've spent most of the night thinking about my marriage and my status as an Elder."

Surprised, Chris turned his face to see Leo and said with some nervous anxiety, "You wouldn't even be an Elder if it weren't for me. I tricked you into that to get you out of the way while I worked on manipulating mom and my aunts. If it weren't for my being here, you'd still be with mom."

Leo leaned down and squeezed Chris' shoulder; "Mom and I worked things out. When she moves back in, I'm staying."

"Really? Well that's… that's great. I'm happy for you… for all of us. But what about being an Elder? I mean doesn't that cross ethical boundaries?"

"Yes. That's why I've been thinking about quitting. Once you're safe in your own timeline, I'm going to ask the council to make me a whitelighter again. I think I'll do more good down here with my family then I will up there overseeing thousands of people. But maybe that makes me the selfish one."

Sitting up and pulling Leo down into a tight hug, Chris said, "Then I'm glad you're selfish, because we all need you here at home."

Tearing up at the love he felt from Chris, Leo sat back down on the bed and hugged Chris back, waiting for him to pull away first. After a few seconds Chris whispered, "I love you, and I don't want things to be bad between us when I go back."

Leo could feel Chris' shuddering breath, and could tell he was crying. Leo held Chris tight. He knew it was fear of the unknown that was making Chris cry, and that there was nothing he could say to make that fear go away, but had to try anyway. "I know son. I don't want things to be bad between us ever again, and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure it doesn't happen."

Ten minutes later Leo realized Chris was close to falling asleep in his embrace. Leo eased Chris back down onto the pillow and said, "Good night."

Chris got comfortable and mumbled, "Night."

* * *

The next morning Chris woke up and put a hand to his head while he groaned. He looked out his window and could tell it was mid morning. He had a slight hang over, and remembered going to P3 for a few beers. His head hurt, and his mouth was dry, but his stomach wasn't rebelling. He rarely drank, and usually regretted it when he did. He got up with a wince at the sharp pain in his head. He got some clean clothes and walked down the hall to the bathroom. He peed, took some painkillers with a large glass of water, and got undressed. He stepped into the shower and washed his hair. As he was rinsing he thought about the night before. The memories of his conversation with Leo came rushing back to him, and he froze in place for a second. Then he quickly got out of the shower, and looked at his dripping reflection in the mirror. He thought, 'I didn't really tell Dad what I think I did… did I?'

After going over the conversation in his head a second time, Chris winced for a whole new reason and put his head in his hands. "You idiot! What were you thinking?!"

He glared at himself and grit his teeth as he said, "No more alcohol Chris, it makes you stupid."

Shaking his head at his own mistake, Chris got a towel and dried off while trying to formulate a good temporary insanity plea to give to Leo. He wrapped the towel around his waist and shaved while trying to come up with some kind of excuse to convince Leo not to spank him. Soon he was dressed and ready for the day. His headache was gone, and before he left the sanctuary of the bathroom he looked at himself one more time and said, "You're screwed and you have no one to blame but yourself."

******************

Leo had woken up early and went to see Piper at magic school, knowing Wyatt would have her up early too. As they ate a quick breakfast, Leo told her about his talk with Chris the night before. Piper had trouble believing it at first, but after a few minutes to think it over she said, "So what are you going to do?"

"Well I'm going to let him sleep in while we move you two home, and then this afternoon I'm going to give him the spanking he asked for; even if he's protesting at the time."

Sighing and already regretting that it had to happen, Piper nodded in agreement and started to pick up the dishes. Leo went home and wished Phoebe a good day as she headed out to work. Paige was in the kitchen, and after telling her they were going to let Chris sleep, they headed to magic school to help Piper move.

Leo, Piper, Gideon, and Paige all spent the early morning moving Piper's things back to the mansion. Because all of the movers besides Piper could orb, it only took a couple of hours to move everything. Once it was done, Leo shook Gideon's hand and thanked him before he left. Soon after, Paige said she would go to the grocery store to stock up now that Piper and Wyatt were home.

Piper was giving Wyatt a snack in the kitchen, and Leo was hanging out with them, when Chris nervously walked in. Piper said, "Good morning Chris sweetie. I made some blueberry muffins. They're still warm if you want one."

Chris avoided eye contact with Leo and smiled at his mother. "I could smell them all the way upstairs. It's nice to have you home."

He went and got himself a muffin and some coffee and sat down to eat. Once he had eaten a couple of bites he darted his eyes up to Leo, and saw him scrutinizing him. Chris swallowed hard and looked back at his mom who was also scrutinizing him. He looked back at his plate and tried to keep his voice normal as he asked, "Are you already done moving back? Why didn't you guys wake me up?"

He took another bite as Piper said; "We are done moving, and Dad thought you could use the extra sleep."

Choking down his bite, Chris took a few swallows of coffee and said, "Oh….Well… Thanks, but it would have been okay to wake me up. I could have helped with the move. Just because I had a few beers, that doesn't mean I should get any special consideration. In fact, it doesn't mean anything should change at all."

Leo knew where Chris was going with this line of reasoning, and his tone clearly said he wasn't buying it when he said, "Chris."

Somewhat panicked Chris' speech came out in a rush, "Things I may have said or done last night shouldn't be taken seriously. I had too much to drink to be thinking clearly. I was talking nonsense. We should really just forget about the whole thing."

Leo went to the table and sat down across from Chris. "We aren't going to forget about it, and I am going to take it seriously."

Looking up from his plate Chris met Leo's eyes and shook his head slightly. Leo said, "When you're done eating I want you to go to your room and wait for me."

Chris felt his face heat up and he orbed back to his room without taking another bite. Piper and Leo looked at each other. She put a hand on his shoulder and said, "You're doing the right thing. I wasn't sure before, but I am now."

He nodded and said, "Thanks, but I don't think that makes it any easier."

He stood while Piper started cleaning up Wyatt from his snack. Needing a few minutes to get himself prepared, Leo walked to Chris' bedroom instead of orbing. The door was open and he could see Chris pacing around his room. Leo knocked on the open door before walking in, and closing the door behind him.

Chris stopped pacing and gave his dad a forlorn look. Leo sat down on the edge of Chris' bed. "Come here."

Shaking his head Chris pleaded, "No, can't we just talk about it? I was drunk."

"Which helped you let your guard down. Now come here."

Chris backed up a step and shook his head again.

Standing, Leo walked over to Chris and pulled him back to the bed. Chris didn't struggle much but complained, "Daaaad, could we please not do this?"

Leo sat down and undid Chris' pants, which quickly fell to his ankles, before pulling him over his lap. Leo gave Chris twenty hard swats on top of his boxers before responding. "We are going to do this, because you lied to me. You told us that Wyatt was turned sometime before you were three, when in reality you knew that he was turned before you were born. That was vital information that we needed to be able to make the right decisions, and you kept it from us."

Leo pulled the boxers down to mid thigh. Chris lay his head down on the crook of his arm, stared at the comforter in front of him, and wished he were somewhere else. Leo gave him four swats and then added, "That is what you did isn't it?"

Unable to deny it Chris said, "Yes."

Leo nodded and wrapped an arm around Chris' middle to keep him in place before bringing his hand down hard on the center of Chris' unprotected rear. Not ready for the pain Chris yelped an 'Ow!' while Leo's hand kept a steady rain of swats coming down. After a full minute of steady swats, Chris was trying to wiggle away from Leo. When he was unable to get away he yelled, "Ow! Ow!! Ow!! Okay Dad, you've made your point! Ouch! I'm sorry okay? Please stop!"

Without stopping Leo answered, "Then after we found out about it, you lied about why you lied."

Not able to take it anymore without crying, Chris yelled, "That wasn't intentional!" and put a hand back to cover his butt.

Leo took Chris' wrist in his hand, pulled it to the center of his lower back to keep it out of the way, and started spanking again. He said, "Maybe. Maybe not. But my guess is that if you don't get spanked for it, you'll feel guilty about it either way."

Chris' wiggling got more frantic for a few seconds, and when the pain continued he got angry. With some tears falling down his cheeks he yelled, "So you believe the shit I tell you when I'm drunk, but not the things I tell you when I'm sober?! You're mentally deficient Leo!"

Leo swatted Chris harder and aimed for his sit spots because of the language and the attitude. Chris yelped with each swat and instantly regretted his words. After eight of the harder swats Leo paused to say, "It's not just what you said Chris, it's how you said it. I want to make sure you believe me when I tell you that I'm listening not only to your words, but also to the things you don't say. I need you to know that I'm paying close attention to you, and I always will be."

With conflicting emotions Chris said tearfully, "This isn't the kind of attention I wanted."

"What you want isn't always the same as what you need." Leo started swatting again and said, "Every time you lie to me this is where we're going to end up. Do you understand me?"

Chris' body jerked from the fresh pain and he yelled out, "Yes I understand! Please stop! I won't lie anymore! Dad please!"

After a couple more swats Leo did stop. He let go of Chris' wrist, patted his back, and pulled the boxers back up to let him know it was over. Chris wasn't crying hard, but Leo was sure his point had been made. He heard a few sniffs and saw Chris wiping at his face a couple of times before pushing to stand up.

Chris leaned down, untangled his pants from around his ankles, and pulled them back into place. Leo stood up and pulled Chris into a hug. Leo said, "Are you going to be able to forgive yourself and let go of some guilt?"

Still a little angry about the whole thing, Chris let himself be hugged, but didn't hug Leo back. Chris thought about it for a second and said, "I can forgive myself for not telling you about Wyatt, but I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for getting drunk and spilling my guts to you."

Chuckling, Leo let Chris go and said, "Live and learn son. I think most people have regretted drinking too much at one time or another. I know I have."

Chris said with surprise, "You?"

"Sure. During World War II, my buddies and went out and did some pretty stupid things with the aid of some alcohol."

Chris nodded in understanding and said, "Right. Sometimes I forget how old you are, and that you used to be human. I have trouble imagining you in wartime."

"It seems like a lifetime ago."

Interested in what Leo might have done in the past with his war buddies, Chris asked, "So what kinds of things did you do that you regretted?"

Leo put an arm around Chris' shoulders and headed them towards the bedroom door. "Those would be inappropriate stories to tell my kids."

"I'm an adult. I think I can handle it."

"I'll tell you what. If you still want to know when you're forty, then I'll tell you."

"Oh brother." Chris rolled his eyes.

Leo opened the bedroom door and they walked out. "For now, why don't you come downstairs, eat your breakfast without the thoughts of last night hanging over your head, and then just spend the day with us. No demon fighting; no whitelighter duties; just spending time with me, your mom, and Wyatt."

"Shouldn't we be looking into how to send me back to my time."

"Plenty of time to start that tomorrow. Today we're taking the day off."

Chris wasn't sure if that was a good idea, but Leo sounded like he'd already made up his mind. "Okay."

They started down the stairs and Leo said, "We could go to the zoo."

Chris thought about telling his father that he was too old to get excited about going to the zoo, but that would be a lie, and he'd had enough negative attention to last him a long time. Going on a family outing with just the four of them honestly did sound exciting to Chris, who hadn't been to the zoo since he was twelve. And it was an outing that didn't involve much sitting since they would most likely orb there and home. "That sounds nice."

They made it to the kitchen where Wyatt was playing with some pans, and Piper was doing the dishes. Leo said, "Hey Piper, what do you say to spending the day at the zoo with our sons?"

Piper looked at Chris to see if he was okay. He gave her a half smile with a blush at the scrutiny. Piper could tell he was better then he had been before going upstairs, and turned to give her husband a glare as she said, "Your idea of a good time is having your eight months pregnant wife walking for hours on end while pushing a stroller? And let's not mention trying to keep my toddler, who won't stay in the stroller for long, from orbing over the fences to get up close and personal with the animals?"

Chris felt a little bad for having not considered this, and was about to tell her they could do something else when Leo did something Chris found surprising. Leo went and wrapped his arms around Piper and kissed the frown off her lips. He said, "You'll love it and you know it."

Smiling a little at how well Leo knew her, Piper gave him an exaggerated put upon sigh and said; "Okay, but you'll have to buy me an ice cream cone."

Chris watched as they kissed one more time and realized this was familiar. This was what things had been like between his parents when he had been little; he had just forgotten. He closed his eyes for a second. He was almost afraid to think it, but was unable to stop himself from sending up a silent prayer that the future he went back to would see his parents alive, happy, and together.

He felt someone touch his arm. He looked down to see Piper looking up at him with concern. "Are you okay?"

With a genuine smile Chris said, "I want to see the lions first."

Smiling back Piper said, "Lions it is then, but you need to eat some more of your breakfast first while I pack Wyatt a diaper bag."

Piper headed out of the kitchen, while Chris picked up the muffin he had left on the table. He stood by the counter to finish eating, and Leo stood next to him to keep him company while Wyatt continued to play on the floor. Both Leo and Chris wished that the contented feeling they were experiencing could last forever.


End file.
